Clint is When?
by Barton-Lover2
Summary: Napping for Clint is apparently dangerous when he suddenly finds himself woken by a younger Bucky Barnes and a pre-serum Steve Rogers. How had he gone back in time? What happened to cause this and how was Clint going to not ruin the timeline? Or, was he even on the same timeline anymore? Can he safely make it home without ruining too much?
1. Foot in Mouth

CHAPTER 1 - Foot in Mouth

"Bucky?" Clint asked, seriously confused. What happened? Where was he? The soldier before him bristled and seemed furiously curious. Clint frowned. Bucky knew him well. Why would he act like that? It wasn't like they had gotten into some sort of fight recently. Right?

"How do you know that name?" 'Bucky' demanded. Clint winced, what the fuck? His eyes quickly flicked to Bucky's left hand. It was flesh. Something was wrong. Maybe Clint shouldn't have said Bucky's name. Could this be something like the Reality stone again? Or something different? What other stones were there? What happened? "I don't know ya."

"I..." Clint started, unsure what to say to that. He needed more information before he answered and fucked something up. Well, fucked something up more than it already was. Jesus, couldn't he get a fricking break? He had just gotten home!

"Buck! What's going on?" another voice called out. Clint looked past Bucky and noted a rather small, thin and slightly sickly looking figure coming out of the hallway behind Bucky. The archer tried hard not to gasp at the sight. It was Steve Rogers before the serum. He had seen enough of the photos. Tony loved making fun of Steve by showing off the older pictures. But... If Clint was seeing him like this now...

"Oh fuck," Clint whispered mostly to himself. He thought back to what he last remembered. Maybe that would help him to figure out what happened. All he could really come up with was that he had gone upstairs to go to... He was resting... He had been sleeping with the... Oh damn it. This wasn't the Reality Stone. Only one stone could do something like this. And it wasn't good for him. "Aw, Time stone, no."

"What?" Bucky growled, staring harshly down at Clint as if the archer had lost his mind. Clint shook his head. He _really_ had to watch himself right now. Wouldn't want to change history. At all. God forbid he erased Cap or Bucky from the future. Wait, would the future he knows even be the same? Or... Could he even get back to the proper time? He needed to get out of here and figure out what to do. The one thing he did know, it wasn't going to be good if he stayed with them.

"Look, I'm sorry but... I gotta go," Clint tried, getting to his feet. Bucky shook his head and moved to push Clint against a wall. Clint ducked his attempt but didn't move any closer to the door. There was no way he could hurt either of them. He needed to leave them alone. If only they'd leave him alone. Bucky shifted again in an attempt to grab him but again, Clint ducked away. Jesus, was Bucky just as stubborn/stupid as Steve?

"No, you're gonna tell me how ya got in here," Bucky snarled. Clint winced, finally looking around. Only to see he had arrived in a rather run down apartment. An apartment that Steve had intricately drawn in exact detail soon after defeating Loki and deciding to live in the tower. A picture that hung, framed (thanks Pepper) in the living room of Avengers Tower. Clint had fallen in Steve and Bucky's apartment from the 1940s. This was the worse possible option right now. "Answer me!"

"You... Honestly, you wouldn't believe me," Clint mumbled before wincing and looking at Bucky with an apologetic look. The archer could only hope that Bucky would drop his questioning. Bucky frowned at the archer but didn't back off. If anything, he moved closer to Clint. Clint's face contorted in misery. He had only one way to potentially escape this and he could hope that there wouldn't be any repercussions for it. If he ever got home, hopefully Bucky wouldn't kill him. "Don't hate me."

Then, quicker than Bucky or Steve could track, Clint slammed a fist into Bucky's gut and then into his face, seemingly knocking the soldier out. Clint winced again, looking up at Steve to see if he'd do anything. Steve looked down at Bucky, now laying possibly unconscious on the floor before looking at Clint. Slowly, the guy lifted his hands, readying for a fight. Clint sighed. He wasn't gonna fight small Steve. God forbid he broke the guy's ribs or some shit and killed him before Steve could even meet Erskine.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to leave and he wouldn't have let me," Clint begged. Steve frowned. The little guy looked down again at Bucky before back to Clint with narrowed eyes.

"No, I won't either. Ya need to tell me how ya got in here," Steve called. Clint tried hard not to laugh. There was no way in hell that Steve would be able to stop him. Especially since he had easily 'knocked' Bucky out. Neither of them were Super Soldiers yet, so it was easy for Clint to overwhelm them. He was a highly trained agent and... Only Bucky had any sort of training, if this was when Clint figured it was, but Clint doubted it included hand to hand fighting.

"You can't stop me," Clint said, moving to get to the door which was behind Steve. Surprisingly, Steve moved before Clint and swung out a punch. Being nice, Clint allowed it to hit but refused to react on principal not that the hit hurt or anything. But considering Steve was the size of Lila and he always faked being hurt by her punches, Clint held himself from doing the same. Steve pulled back, hissing as he tried not to shake his now aching hand and wrist. Clint sighed, trying to hid his smirk over Steve's really soft punch. God, if he returned to his right time Steve was gonna be pissed about all this. "Ya done?"

"I ain't," a voice snapped. Clint turned just in time to see Bucky's fist come straight for him. The archer dodged to the side, the punch skimming his right shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Clint danced out of the way. Steve came at him next, trying to body tackle him. Clint grimaced, catching the 90 pound guy and tried his hardest not to instinctively just flip Steve over onto the table that sat behind the archer. Because Clint became distracted trying not to hurt Steve, Bucky was able to jump forward and get a hard hit into Clint's face. The archer lost balance in surprise and he, with Steve on his chest, fell into the table, it breaking under their combined weight.

"Damn it," Clint growled, pushing Steve off him as gently as possible and shifting to catch Bucky's foot as he tried to stomp onto the archer's chest above where Steve had laid. Pushing it away he kept the soldier from slamming into Clint's gut. Even off balance, Bucky recovered fast and twisted his stance to now kick Clint in the ribs. Shifting a bit more on the table remains, Clint noted Steve was laying winded beside him. If Clint dodged again, Bucky would likely hit Steve. So, Clint took the kick with a loud grunt. Growling, Clint jerked his arm to the side, catching Bucky's foot and pulling to toward him and partially over him accidentally shifting Bucky toward Steve. Bucky tipped over, just barely missing landing on Steve who was jerking to his feet. Frowning, Clint automatically casted a protection spell on Steve. No need to have the guy killed before getting the serum. His distraction costed him again as Bucky aimed a kick right to his face. "Son of a bitch!"

"Language," Steve grumbled, getting to his feet. Clint paused at that before he stopped to laugh, hardly able to stop if Bucky attacked again. But he couldn't help it. Thankfully his laughter made both of them pause. They were in the midst of a fight and this guy just stopped to laugh at them? "What?"

"Sorry... I... I have a friend who's stuck on that as well. You... You remind me of him," Clint explained with a soft smile on his face, wistfully wondering if Steve had restarted that joke just for his sake. But, what if Steve didn't know? What if Clint was in a different timeline, or was creating a different timeline? Forgetting it as best as possible, the archer looked up at Bucky, who had since recovered and was now standing above Clint's crouched form. Bucky glanced at Steve before looking back to Clint.

"Who are you?" Bucky asked again. Clint sighed, realizing at this point he was trapped. Bucky and Steve would have no qualms about hurting him while he would be afraid of hurting them. How was he gonna get himself out of this mess? It wasn't like he could just tell them what was going on. He needed to get out of here without tell them a thing. But Bucky was going to fight him tooth and nail. And Steve would try and help. Keyword being try. But, maybe _some _bit of truth could work? Just let them know a little of what happened? Not that he expected them to believe him, but still. He had to give them something.

"My name is Clint and I... I was accidentally brought here," Clint stuttered, not wanting to reveal much more. Not that he had much more information as to what happened. Either way, it was bad enough he had to do this tiny bit. He was likely changing something, somewhere. Course thinking about what he said to them, he couldn't help but frown. Seemed him getting sent somewhere he didn't want to go happened at lot to him. Maybe one day he'd actually be sent somewhere he meant to go. Or maybe he could just not be sent anywhere at all.

"What are you talking about? Accidentally brought here?" Bucky repeated, an eyebrow raised as if Clint was talking in another language. Clint grimaced, slowly getting to his feet. That really shouldn't have been what he said. He should have said something else like... Broke in to the wrong place? No... God damn it. It would have been so much better if _anyone_ other than him had been sent back. Well, not everyone. Wouldn't have been good if Steve or Bucky got sent back to their past selves.

"I told you before, you wouldn't believe me," Clint tried again, lost in what he should have said originally instead of paying attention to what he was saying now. Bucky stepped forward, grabbing Clint's shirt collar. That redrew Clint's attention on his future friend. Shit, he was in trouble. Bucky only gave that look when he was pissed.

"Make me," the solider growled. Clint winced. How... Fuck it... Lets pull a god damn _Back to the Future_ shit. It worked in the movie. Maybe it wouldn't hurt here. And hell, if this was the actual past of his Steve and Bucky, they'd... They'd have fucking know he got sent back! Why hadn't either of them said anything? Wait, forget it. Focus on the now.

"You get your papers saying you're in the 107th?" Clint countered, figuring that was likely the time he landed in. Or, could this have been before Bucky was drafted? Damn it. He seriously should have talked to Steve about this. Coulson had drilled a lot of information about Cap, but not about Bucky. Still, he must have been right as Bucky paused, letting go of Clint and backing away. The Sergeant had just gotten them that morning. He hadn't even been able to tell Steve. Steve looked to Bucky in surprise but didn't comment on it. The smaller guy could tell that Clint was right in his assumption.

"How-"

"Did I know? Cause, honestly. You two are history lessons for me," Clint finally informed, honestly not able to think of what else to say. How best was it to break to someone he was from the future? Especially when traveling to 1940 where Clint doubted there was even any sort of mention of time travel. Bucky and Steve frowned. Clint sighed. In for a dollar... "I'm from like nearly eighty years in the future."

"Bullshit," Bucky growled, moving to stand so close to Clint that they seemed to share breath. Clint grimaced. Steve let out a small cough that had Bucky and Clint looking to him. Was Steve sick? Did he need to rest?

"I told you you wouldn't believe me," Clint muttered when it seemed like Steve had most likely just been trying to get their attention. Bucky looked to Clint and then to Steve with a disbelieving face. Steve just stared back. The duo stayed like that for a moment. Silently speaking to each other. Clint twitched a bit. So, was that what he and Natasha was... Were? Will be? Anyway, like? While he had seen it in the other reality with Wanda and Pietro, knowing Wanda could mentally speak to Pietro was much different than this moment here. Then Bucky sighed and turned back to look at Clint.

"Okay, oh wise one. Tell us something about us that no one else should know?" Bucky dared, crossing his arms. Clint winced, apparently the papers about the 107th worked to some small degree. How it wasn't proof enough, Clint didn't know. All he knew was what he was going to be saying next followed a very fine line of Clint saying too much or saying not enough to be believed. To be honest, Clint had a lot of stories from the duo from before the war. But not all history books would talk about some of those stories. And the more believable things that Clint could say wouldn't be likely that the books would have, even as stupid trivia. But, those stupid stories would likely be the only thing that would work considering a lot that would have been in history books had yet to happen. Growling, Clint gave in. He needed to use the stories that both of them had told him.

"You used to work as hard as you did to get Steve in to art school but he refused and so the money went to Rebecca," Clint stated, focusing mainly on Bucky. Rebecca was a safe topic for Clint to choose, right? Bucky's frown increased as Steve nudged the soldier. Okay... Not good enough. Try again. "Steve's been beaten up in nearly every alley from here to Sal's and there was only twice that you were late to getting to him and he nearly died from the bruising alone."

"Okay, I believe you," Steve called, shifting to stand between Clint and Bucky. Bucky rolled his eyes as Clint just raised an eyebrow, looking at Steve.

"You would," the soldier grumbled with Clint mentally agreeing with him.

"Buck, come on," Steve pressed. Clint then noticed that his path to the door had opened. So he moved a few inches toward the door, warily watching Bucky as he did. And in return, Bucky warily watched him back but didn't stop the small progress. So, knowing Bucky was watching, Clint knew he would not able to go too far then. Bucky was too focused on him. "Not even Becca knows about the money."

"Stevie," Bucky argued, focusing again on his friend. Clint held his hands up in defense even though mentally he knew he should just run for it, he didn't. Because this was him and he was never all that good at doing the smart thing unless on a mission. Then it was a fifty/fifty shot of him doing the smart thing (according to Nat and Coulson).

"Look, I get it. You don't believe me and I'm not gonna make you. I just... I just wanna leave and not cause you guys any more trouble," Clint informed, beginning to back away even more. He was surprised when Steve snatched his hand and held the archer still. Again, Clint couldn't allow himself to fight out of this, no matter how tempting it was. It was just, most of the moves he could do at the moment had a high possibility of hurting Steve and it would be really bad to do that.

"Stevie," Bucky warned, his eyes glancing to Steve's hand on Clint's wrist. Steve shook his head not wanting to hear it.

"Look at him, no one wears clothes like that," Steve muttered. Clint glanced down at this clothes. It was a purple 'Stark Industries' shirt and flannel 'Captain America' bottoms. Clint winced. God damn it. Why did he have to wear this to rest? He should have... Well, he didn't know what he should have done but he certainly could have picked something less obvious. "He doesn't even have shoes! We can't let him go."

"Stevie, we can hardly take care of ourselves," Bucky pointed out. Clint sighed, finally noting his not even sock covered feet. Apparently he might want to start thinking about wearing his cargo pants filled with items he might need full time as a just in case a situation of something like this happened again. And with Clint's luck lately, it likely will happen again. Or he should just ask Loki how to create and access a pocket dimension. That'd be cool. It would be just like Izril. Just a flick of the wrist and a simple thought and he'd have a change of clothes. Or food. Or meds. Anything that he currently did not have at this moment and likely needed. Hell, maybe he could ask to learn an invisibility spell. If he had that he could have snuck out by now. Damn, he should totally have asked to learn more spells. Well, he'll certainly do that after all this. If he made it back.

"Look, I don't want to bother you any more. Just let me go and you'll never see me again," Clint bargained. '_Until Steve unfreezes and we save Bucky from Hydra'_ Clint couldn't help but finish safely in his head, _'not that I'd know you guys_._'_ Steve somehow tightened his grip on Clint's wrist and the archer had to admit, he was surprised at the force the smaller guy had. It wasn't enough to hurt or truly even stop him from escaping but considering Steve's stature, it was like he was the strongest man alive. Huh. Maybe Erskine's formula didn't create the extra muscle. Instead it just brought out what Steve should/could have been. Minus the rapid healing, metabolism, and stuff.

"No. You can't go out there dressed how you are," Steve stated, turning to look at the archer. Clint and Bucky frowned at Steve's decision. The guy was far too trusting. And even though Clint knew that Steve would survive everything, it was still worry some. No wonder Bucky always called him a stupid punk. Steve really was a stupid punk. "You should fit in Bucky's clothes."

"Stevie," Bucky whined nearly making Clint snigger. Steve shook his head and while still holding Clint, began walking to what Clint could only assume was the bedrooms. Bucky and Clint willingly allowed it and as Clint passed by Bucky, he just gave the soldier a 'what can you do' look. The sight of it had Bucky frowning at the archer but he followed Steve as well. Steve let go of Clint once they entered what Clint could only assume was Bucky's room. Clint had had Steve tell him about his room. The walls were covered with drawings from random pieces of papers. And this room didn't have anything. "Stevie."

"Oh, stop, Buck. We're gonna help," Steve snapped, not even turning to look back at the other two men. Both of them winced. There was gonna be no way either of them could stop Steve now. The guy was determined to help Clint. And it was odd cause even though Clint had 'broken' into their apartment, Steve was willingly showing him around and offering clothing. Clothing that Clint was certain they couldn't spare, even with Bucky going to war soon.

"You really don't have to," Clint stressed. Steve shook his head and began looking through Bucky's clothes. Clint looked to Bucky for some type of help. Bucky shook his head and pointed looked at Steve. Clint hung his head. Yeah, he thought as much. Steve was far too stubborn for his own good.

"Do... Do you know us personally?" Bucky asked after that, his brows furrowed. Clint tensed. Shit, he fucked up again. God he was so bad at this. And he used to be a top spy! When had his attention on these skills failed? Was being with the Avengers so long that it made him forget everything? Or... Could Bucky have just been that good at seeing things like this? It wasn't Hydra training. Mentally shaking his head, Clint focused on the moment on hand

"What?" Clint wondered as if he could argue with Bucky on what he had done. But glancing over to Bucky, Clint could tell it likely wouldn't work. Even Steve had stopped looking in order to stare at the archer. Aw, actions, no.

"You seem to know more than just what history books would say. Like, I doubt they'd mention how stubborn Stevie could be," Bucky huffed. Clint looked to the ground, unsure what else to say. Indeed, the history books only talked about Steve's determination, kindness and sense of righteousness. Not the stubborn shit head that the Avengers knew. "If you're eighty years in the future, how do you know us?"

"I don't," Clint tried, trying not to squeak but he could hear how much of a lie that was. Bucky leveled him with a look. A look that Clint knew rather well. But was typically aimed at Steve. He could see now why Steve use to fidget under the stare. It was uncomfortable. But Clint couldn't give in and explain everything that was going on. He gave Bucky an apologetic look, wishing that there was a better way to do any of this. "Look, please. Don't. It's bad enough I'm here."

"Fine," Bucky snorted, shaking his head, an odd expression crossing his face. Clint sighed in relief, ignoring the look. At least that small bit of begging had worked a bit. Maybe he could just sneak out quickly before they noticed. They'd have to relax at some point.

"We must be like a hundred or something, right?" Steve questioned making Clint look up at him. The archer let out a soft breath as he thought about what Steve said. Yeah, he could take that out. That would work.

"Or something," he whispered before mentally slapping himself. Why hadn't he tried to sound more confident? Hell why didn't he just nod his head and smile rather than giving those two stupid words as his answer. Thankfully, Steve just shook it off and stated looking through Bucky's clothes again. Bucky leaned against the door frame and watched the smaller guy. Clint grunted and shifted to lean against the wall opposite of Bucky as he tried to relax and act calm. Yeah, he could do that. He could totally do that. But, he also totally needed to leave. Now. "You really shouldn't do this."

"I doubt there is mention of some guy wandering around in a very American related pants and a shirt that has no actual design like Howard Stark's new company," Steve mentioned. Clint frowned, glancing quickly at his shirt before focusing on the smaller man.

"Stark Industries started in 1940," the archer argued forgetting exactly what year Bucky had joined the war.

"And it's 1943," Bucky added. Steve stopped and looked to them.

"Stark's logo looks nothing like that," the guy hissed. Clint looked down to the logo again. Yeah, it was one of the more recent designs of the logo but Tony had said it was based on the first design that Howard had done. Apparently it wasn't close enough. He was gonna kill Tony when he got back... Well, if he got back.

"Stevie," Bucky groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. Clint snorted at that. Everyone one of the Avengers knew of Steve's tendency to point out useless changes that no one other than an artist or someone with great memory would know. "Stop with that."

"Eidetic memory," Clint and Steve replied at the same time. Steve quickly turned to look at Clint who just winced. He was really digging himself a deep hole here.

"Sorry," the archer mumbled. At least the memory thing would have been mentioned in the history books. Steve shook his head and finally grabbed some clothes and held them up to Clint and looked both the clothes and the archer over. With a smile, Steve nodded his head and brought the clothes over.

"Dude, that's my favorite shirt," Bucky jokingly protested. Steve leveled his friend with a look that had Bucky huff out a small laugh. Clint smirked.

"Well, then I really can't take this," Clint jokingly added, raising his hands up so he couldn't actually take the clothes. Steve then turned his look to Clint. The archer chuckled even as Steve shoved the clothes into his chest. Clint shook his head with a sigh but took the clothes in the end. They all knew Steve would push the subject until Clint caved. Might as well save them all the trouble. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it!" Steve happily retorted before pushing Bucky out of the room and closing the door behind him. Clint sighed deeply, looking the clothes over. What the hell was he going to do? He was already changing history enough with just speaking to them. Never mind what else he could do. There was no way he wouldn't accidentally spill some sort of note of the future. God, what if he mentioned Bucky's falling from the train? Or Steve's plunge into the water in the _Valkyrie_? He was the worst person to have been sent to the past...

Clint dressed quickly and was kinda surprised that he nearly didn't fit correctly into Bucky's clothes as they just barely hung onto his hips. In the future... God that was odd to say... Anyway, in the future, Bucky's clothes had always been either the perfect fit or a little tight. Apparently the faux super soldier serum Bucky will get does enhance his muscle mass. Oh damn... Clint really shouldn't stay. He glanced to the door, knowing Steve and Bucky were waiting on the other side. Slowly he looked to the window. Carefully, he headed over to it and looked through. There wasn't really a good way down, unless you could parkour it down. Clint calculated the angles he'd need to take and moved to open the window. He hardly had his hands on the pane when he was interrupted.

"It's stuck. You won't be able to open it anyways," Bucky's voice called. Clint didn't jump. He just sheepishly turned to see Bucky had opened the door and like before leaned against the frame, watching him. "Didn't think it'd take you long to get dressed. So, came to check on ya."

"You really didn't need to," Clint grumbled, quickly glancing to the window again. Bucky huffed.

"Apparently I do if ya think you can just slip out of here," Bucky replied. Clint winced. Damn it. He needed to leave them. And fast. They were a bit to curious for their own good. It wouldn't do well to have them learn things they shouldn't. Like Azzano... The Train... The _Valkyrie..._ "We should talk."

"I really shouldn't," Clint mumbled knowing that those words were the worst to hear in this sort of situation. Bucky leveled him with a look. The same look from before. Clint shifted, trying not to let it bother him. But this time, it totally bothered him.

"I'm gonna be shipped out in tomorrow, Stevie and I have a date tonight and I wanna make sure I don't gotta worry 'bout ya," Bucky quickly listed. Clint paled. If Bucky was shipping out the next day... This was when Steve was going to meet Erskine! Jesus, this was the worst fucking day for him to have arrived. He thought Bucky had gotten his papers maybe a week or more before Steve got 'enlisted.' Had Coulson known that? Was it written... No, it couldn't have been know. Steve never told the SSR about Bucky till Azzano. And Bucky never met Erskine. There was no way he could have known. And surprisingly, that made Clint feel so much worse. "Something I'm missin'?"

"Uh..." Clint started, cursing his inability to cover his emotions at this point. He was too wired and keyed up from having been sent back to really focus. But what should he say? No, what could he say? No matter what he did here, it was dangerous. He really didn't want to change history. Even if it ended up being an alternate future or something. Steve and Bucky were needed.

"Do I gotta worry about ya?" Bucky wondered, his face curious but cautious. Clint shook his head. He needed to leave. And if lying was gonna get it done, then he'd do that.

"No, I'll get out of here and neither of you will see me again," Clint replied, moving to try and slip past Bucky. Bucky allowed it and only twisted a little to give Clint room but not enough for Clint to actually get through.

"For another eighty years or so?" Bucky added. Clint winced and nodded. It was at least a little feasible that someone could live to a hundred or so. Even if it seemed _highly_ unlikely that Steve could even survive the next week. Bucky hummed and let Clint start to slip past but quickly followed after him. Steve had planted himself right in front of the door, arms crossed and glaring at Clint as soon as the archer left Bucky's room. For half a second, Clint wanted to laugh at the guy. There was no way Steve would be able to stop him. But, if he was just there to delay Clint, Bucky had a good chance of taking him down (only cause Clint couldn't fight to hurt while Bucky could). "He tried sneaking out my window."

"Good thing that's sealed shut," Steve retorted his gaze angrily focusing on the archer. Clint sighed. Apparently he was predictable. Wasn't that a hit to his pride. "We need to talk."

"We really don't," Clint seemingly begged, trying to get out of all this. Steve shook his head. He was at the point where he was gonna be too stubborn to fight. Clint almost whimpered. Why couldn't he catch a freaking break?

"We really do," the smaller guy practically hissed. Clint shook his head. A second later, Bucky placed a hand on Clint's shoulder and started leading the archer to the couch. It took a moment later for Clint to realize it was Bucky's left hand that was touching him. He couldn't stop himself from getting tense against the hand. But Bucky got his point across and thankfully he seemingly didn't care about Clint's reaction as he just forced Clint to sit down on the couch.

"You said your name is Clint, right?" Bucky started. Clint nodded, looking to the ground. Why couldn't they just drop it? Just let him walk out of their lives? He was totally gonna have words with Steve and Bucky whenever/if he got back. "Last name?"

"Barton," Clint muttered as soft as he could. Maybe telling them his actual name rather than a fake one would actually help get him saved in the long run. At least they'd know he was here. And... They'd know if he made it safely back or not. God, could what he was saying already be changing things? Were they telling Tony, Natasha, Bruce and the others? It was more likely though that Clint was creating an alternate timeline so no one knew about him.

"Clint Barton, okay," Bucky confirmed. Clint nodded. No real reason to lie about that even with the possibility of this being a different timeline. It wasn't like he planned on meeting anyone else. And he'd already given them his first name. He'll certainly lie to any other people he potentially ran across. "Do you have a place to stay while here?"

"What?" Clint asked, head jerking up to look at Bucky in surprise. He really hadn't expected the conversation going this way. Maybe he heard Bucky wrong. Bucky sighed, moving a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. That was a sign that he was getting a bit aggravated. Clint nearly winced.

"Not sure if ya remember but there is a war going on. Someone your age who hasn't been drafted or enlisted yet, is gonna get in trouble without a place to stay," Bucky pointed out. Clint actually winced this time. He hadn't even thought about possibly getting drafted. What would happen if he was and then died? Would he just be sent back home or would he actually be dead? Dead with no mention of what happened to him in the future. Other than a small memory in (likely only) Steve's mind. Jesus... Why the hell was his life so fucked?

"You could always just enlist," Steve suggested with a shrug. Bucky looked at Steve with a disparaging gaze. Even Clint looked to him incredulously. He knew the history books and Steve himself said he was a stubborn shit about fighting but he never expected Steve to try and get Clint to willingly send himself into a battle that he'd likely not survive.

"Not everyone wants to go to war, Stevie," Bucky informed. Steve shrugged. But Steve's point was valid. Going to the war could be a good option. He'd likely get put into a different regiment than Bucky and he'd never see either of them again. He'd have a shot at not spilling any information. It... It could be worth it. Even if risking the dangers of being killed on the battlefield. Hell, he could always just defect once in Germany.

"Might as well," Clint mumbled facing the ground now. From the corner of his eyes, Clint noticed Bucky and Steve looked to him surprised. Clint shrugged, looking back up at them. "I don't have anywhere else to go. And I can't stay here with Steve..."

"Why not?" Steve wondered. Clint winced, looking back to the ground again. Aw, mouth, no! He was such an idiot. "Does something happen?"

"Well, not exactly," Clint replied, mentally kicking himself and his big mouth. Jesus, why did he mention anything? He could have just made up some stupid reason. Like he didn't want to bother them anymore or something. Maybe that he'd only be here a short time... Something like that. Bucky and Steve traded looks.

"What happens?" Bucky pressed. Clint shook his head. Bucky kneeled down in front of Clint. "What happens?"

"I can't," Clint nearly whimpered his eyes shifting to look Bucky in the face. Bucky frowned and Clint could see that Bucky was likely starting to understand the implications of them learning too much. "I can't let you guys know. It's important."

"What is?" Steve asked. Clint shook his head focusing anywhere other than at the duo.

"Forget it Stevie. If he says we can't know, we can't know," Bucky cut off before Steve even had a shot of getting stubborn about it all. Clint looked to him, curious and cautious. Was this going to back fire on the archer? Bucky sighed, nearly rubbing the bridge of his nose again. "You can stay here. Even if something happens to Stevie. This place will be open to you."

"I-"

"No, you can," Bucky interrupted getting to his feet and giving the archer a strict glare. "You're already wearing my clothes. And to be honest, I don't have enough time to really figure out if you're gonna be an issue. Stevie stupidly trusts you. So there's gotta be something good about ya."

"Yeah, stupid to trust me, really," Clint agreed with a small laugh, shifting to face the ground again. Bucky snorted at that and smiled. Steve chuckled. That got him to look back at them. Seriously? They laugh at that? He basically admitted to being a liar or something. "What?"

"Nothing," Bucky replied the smile not wiping off his face. Clint frowned at him but he knew Bucky wasn't going to elaborate. Then Bucky sighed. "Look, I mentioned before, Stevie and I have a double date to get to tonight. But, if ya want, you can tag along, see if anything out there can spark ya to go back."

"I-"

"Come on. What other person can say they went to the Exhibition of the Future while knowing what really comes next?" Bucky bargained his smile growing a bit bigger. Clint snorted. That was true. It'd be great to tell Tony about Howard's stupid inventions and show. Oh shit... He might have to deal with Howard... And Director... Well, future Director Carter. God, this whole thing was a bad idea.

"A better time traveler than me?" he stated with a wince. That got both Steve and Bucky to laugh even if it sounded odd. Clint sighed. Why was it always him?

"Just come. We can't leave ya here alone if you're gonna run," Steve informed. Clint frowned. Jesus, what was with them not wanting to leave them alone? Why was it so important to them?

"Why can't you just let me run? Just, let me leave and you two go on with your lives?" Clint tried, focusing on them. Bucky and Steve shook their heads. The archer almost rolled his eyes. Of course, now both of them were gonna be stubborn about this.

"You're from too far in the future and have already said a good deal to us. Not gonna be a good idea for you to keep spreading the knowledge," Bucky pointed out. Clint sighed, sagging his head into his hands. Dear god, Bucky was right. While he knew what Bucky and Steve were gonna go through, he could meet a random Joe on the street and let them know something that was going to happen. Or save someone who was supposed to die... Fuck him. "Good, so you'll come!"

"Fine..."

"Okay, let me get dressed, then I got a few things I need to do but then I'll go get the girls, you two meet us at the doors," Bucky stated, getting back to his feet to go grab his uniform. Clint furrowed his brow. He forgot that Bucky would need to be in uniform while out in public and the guy wasn't dressed in such right now. Once dressed, less than a few minutes of awkward silence later, Bucky headed to the door. Clint frowned and looked to Steve who had a grimace on his face. Bucky made it to the door before he turned to look at the two of them. Clint almost expected Bucky to point two fingers at his eyes and then move them to point at Steve and the archer. "If I don't see either one of ya at the doors, I will come find ya."

"And end us, I know," Steve joked. Bucky chuckled and slipped out. Clint sighed, looking down to his outfit. It wasn't really date ready and Steve certainly wasn't dressed date friendly. Steve must have noticed as well. "Lets go change ourselves and I got a movie I wanna go see."

* * *

Bucky didn't end up meeting Steve and Clint at the doors to the exhibit. Steve had decided to pick a fight with some guy in a back alley over the war trailers before the movie. Surprisingly, that one guy had friends. Clint knew that Bucky only would take down one guy when finding Steve. So, that meant Clint should be free to kick their asses. And he graciously did as much. By the time Clint finished with the group of five other men, Bucky had already found them and 'saved' Steve.

"I had em on the ropes," Steve argued when Bucky went to give him a hand up. Clint snorted as Bucky rolled his eyes. Then he looked to the archer.

"And why did you get involved?" Bucky half hissed. Clint looked down to the five men just around the bend of the building behind him. Bucky shifted to look over and huffed. "Show off."

The two girls on the double date were more than pleased about Clint's inclusion as what was supposed to be a fifth wheel. But, it ended up being Steve as the one being the fifth wheel. Clint tried his best to turn the girl down over and over. He also pointed acted like he couldn't even remember her name, Connie. But she, like the other girl (Bonnie), easily dragged him and Bucky to Howard Stark's 'Vision of the Future.' Steve sedately followed behind and all Clint wanted to do was apologize and run off.

At the announcement of the flying car, both Steve and Bucky glanced to Clint who pointedly looked to the sky even as they heard the popping of the mechanics inside the car. As it dropped down, Clint heard Howard say 'I did say a few years, didn't I?' Steve chuckled at both Howard and Clint. Even Bucky let out a snort of humor, patting Bonnie's hand when she tightened her grip on him. Steve and Clint now rolled their eyes before Steve started to look around the exhibit and spot something interesting. Clint turned (having made it clear to Connie that he didn't want to be touched) and watched as Steve walked away. He looked to Bucky, who was still distracted with the girls and Stark's show. With a sigh, Clint turned and followed Steve over to the Recruitment area. He watched as some random guy got on some light up sign and laughed before the girl with him dragged him off. Steve got on next and sighed. Clint winced at the sight even as Bucky came by.

"He ain't ever gonna let this go," Bucky softly cussed, actually not wanting Clint to answer, before moving to speak to Steve. Clint backed off, not wanting to listen to this. As he did, he watched the crowd of those enlisting and spotted Erskine slipping out from the back and carefully watching Steve's and Bucky's conversation. Clint sighed. This was really it. This was when Erskine decides to recruit Steve. Clint focused back on his future friends, not seeing Erskine stare at him before looking to see Steve and Bucky. They turned just in time to see Bucky starting to back away. "Don't do anything stupid till I get back."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," Steve snipped back. Clint snorted. Bucky stopped and then shook his head before walking toward Steve again. Clint could only mentally hear Bucky call Steve a punk and Steve returning it with a jerk. Then Bucky started walking away again. "Don't win the war till I get there!"

Bucky turned back to Steve and saluted him before turning to see Clint standing there. He raised an eyebrow at him. Clint shook his head. He was not gonna enlist here, if he did he might end up ruining Steve's run in with Erskine. But he sure as hell wasn't gonna follow Bucky with the girls. They were far too clingy for his liking. Bucky sighed and then headed down the steps. "Come on girls."

Clint huffed at their questions of Clint following before he turned to see Steve head deeper into the center. Erskine watched the little guy go before he turned to look at Clint. The archer just stared back, not wanting to do anything to let Erskine know that he knew what was going to come on. But when Erskine frowned and headed over to him, the archer knew he had to leave. Clint grimaced and started to walk away. No... He had already ruined enough.

"Vait!" Erskine called out. Clint winced but did stop and turn to look at the doctor. Not gonna do him any good if Erskine tried to send someone after him or he chased Clint down himself. The guy really needed to go back and see Steve. "You knov that man?"

"Who? The little guy?" Clint asked, only to wince seconds later when he realized he should have said someone else. Wow... Why the hell was he so bad at this? Erskine smiled and nodded. "Kinda."

"Is he as good as he seems?" Erskine wondered. Clint sighed and nodded his head. Again he couldn't stop the grimace from appeared. God, he should just walk away. Neither Steve or Bucky was here to stop him. He could just disappear. Erskine tilted his head before frowning. Clint frowned himself as Erskine looked Clint over. Then before the archer could really stop him, Erskine grabbed Clint by the arm and dragged him toward the recruitment center. No one stopped the duo as Erskine brought the archer into an empty check over area. Clint figured this was just for some privacy so he wasn't going to argue it. Yet. "Vat do you knov?"

"I don't kn-"

"Don't. You knov somethin'," Erskine accused, nearly stabbing a finger into Clint's chest. Clint winced. Jesus, why were the important future people demanding so much information from him? Why couldn't any of them just leave him alone? "Please."

"I can't," Clint mumbled, really hating that he kept getting himself into these situations. Erskine's eyes narrowed on the archer. He must have noticed something about Clint's posture because he nodded before leaning a bit closer.

"If I choose him? Vill it vork?" Erskine questioned, his voice dropping to nearly a whisper. Clint looked up to him. How the hell did Erskine figure it out? God, he was totally stupid. Erskine just stared at Clint. There was only one way out of this. The archer sighed and slowly nodded. "Thank you."

"Can I go now?" Clint basically whimpered, looking to the doc. Erskine frowned before looking the archer over carefully once again.

"You are a fighter, no?" the man wondered. Clint raised an eyebrow. What the hell did that matter? Confused as to why that could be important and knowing it wouldn't effect the future, Clint nodded his head. "Trained?"

"Kinda," Clint answered, lost in trying to figure out what Erskine was hunting for.

"Good." With that, Erskine turned around and headed off. Clint distantly heard Erskine speaking to someone out there. If he focused hard enough he would have heard Erskine saying that he was going to send Clint out with the next unit and to set the archer up with one of the uniforms in the back. There was a pause after that before Clint heard Erskine move and start speaking with Steve but the archer didn't want to stay and listen. Instead he got up, intent on leaving but, his luck really wasn't going to work. An MP entered the room before a nurse came in and suddenly, Clint found himself getting checked over to get recruited himself.

While he could have argued and just left, Clint figured that because he was planning on joining soon anyways, why not just do it now? Hopefully, because the 107th was getting shipped off tomorrow, he wouldn't even get placed with them. Side, he had to get trained first. And that was something like six months or something like that. But a few seconds after the nurse left (but not the MP), Clint was handed a letter by said MP. He was to join the 107th, tomorrow.

His stomach sank. He almost asked about training as he was ushered toward a back room but stopped when he saw Erskine looking at him. The doc gave Clint a smile and then held a hand to his forehead and as he moved it away. Erskine also nodded his head to Clint in an almost smug and pleased way. Clint grimaced. Damn that doctor. That's what those questions were about. Erskine had seen that Bucky and Clint knew Steve. But, why would Erskine want him to enlist and leave with Bucky? There must be something else going on here. But Clint just couldn't figure out what. For now, he had to continue getting his 'new' uniform that had been stashed in the back.

"Fuck me..."

* * *

**Oh my god! I am so excited that I got to this story! I have been rewriting this story over and over to get it just right. Heck, as I was getting ready to post this, I edited it a bunch, adding new scenes and deleting at least one other one. Anyways, YAY ME!**

**Darius was great on vacation. So much better than he ever is at home. Only thing that really ticked me off was when he made me wait for nearly an hour an a half to get on Peter Pan's Flight and once we were halfway through the line, he decided he was done. So, we leave the line and as we pass the front area once again, the kiddo dares to ask me if we could go on it. -_- Yeah, that's a no kid. In the end, Darius didn't do many rides. Between the long waits and him being afraid of the stupidest things, there wasn't much he could do. Hubby doesn't like rides to begin with so I think he only ended up doing one. But, I got wicked lucky this trip. My first attempt at doing Rise of the Resistance, I got it! I was group 17, meaning after the park opened at 8 am, I was on the ride by 845ish. So, yeah. FUN! Then I did two runs of Smugglers Run. Was a gunner in the first go round, and then a engineer in the second. I also got to go on Everest during a After Hours party at Animal Kingdom, so it wasn't a long wait. And, I FINALLY FIT ON FLIGHT OF PASSAGE! For those of you who don't know me... I am fat. And that ride does not cater well to people who are a little front heavy and back flabby. So, I was never able to get securely locked in. This time, I did it! The best part, once the ride was over, it almost refused to let me off. Tee hee. The cast member was able to free me in the end, but still funny to watch everyone getting up to leave while I'm trapped. Good story for all of us to tell.**

**Baby Jason apparently finally said 'mama' while we were gone. So his mother is happy. He also got a little ill and after what happened to Clint, they got really scared. It was thankfully nothing but a small cold and fever so just some Tylenol/Motrin and he was as okay as one can be when that young. Still, he otherwise seems to be doing good.**

**Please review, I'd love to hear what people think of this. I know it doesn't seem like much happened in this chapter but, do you all at least like the build up?**


	2. Getting Ready for War

CHAPTER 2 - Getting Ready for War

"See what happens when you go and be an idiot!" Bucky cried at Steve as soon as the trio met up again at the apartment. Steve looked mighty pleased with himself but hadn't mentioned to Bucky about his own attempt and success at joining the army himself. Clint sat on the couch, his head in his hands. Why did his life keep turning for the worst? Why did trouble follow him like a damn shadow? "Damn it Steve, do you even care?"

"I care!" Steve shouted back. Bucky shook his head.

"You don't look like it!" Bucky snapped back. Steve shook his head, his glee of getting recruited by Erskine finally diminishing enough for him to realize that Clint was now being forced into a war that to him had already happened. And while he might have thought of enlisting before, he was forced to do it earlier than he wanted.

"I'm..." Steve started. Clint shook his head lifting it to look at Steve.

"I knew what was going to happen there... I shouldn't have stayed," Clint mumbled, making sure Steve knew it wasn't his fault. Bucky tossed his hands into the air.

"Both of ya are so stupid!" the soldier nearly screamed. Clint sighed and looked up.

"There's nothing we can do about it now. Just, get through it," Clint snarled, switching his gaze to Bucky now. Bucky frowned, looking to the archer in confusion. "Look, it's none of our fault. It's shitty, but it happened. No fixing it."

"Can't you just go back?" Steve asked, his voice meek. Clint laughed for a second before shaking his head again.

"No. I... I don't even really know what sent me back here," the archer sadly chuckled after a moment. Steve frowned and looked away. Carefully he looked up at them. "Just, for now. Can we all drop it? Tomorrow, Bucky and I are gonna be shipped out. Let's just leave it at that."

There was a pause at that. Clint almost cussed himself out. He had forgotten that he hadn't told them that part yet. Just that he had been recruited. Well, not that he had to say anything considering he was carrying around the uniform.

"What about training?" Steve wondered. Even Bucky was giving him a look. He had gotten training, so why hadn't Clint? The archer gave Steve a look that told the guy all he needed to know. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," the archer sighed looking to the ground again. Steve winced, feeling even worse now. If he hadn't gone in, Clint wouldn't have run into Erskine. And he wouldn't have been recruited then. It was clear that Clint hadn't wanted to be with Bucky, even though Steve and Bucky felt better that he'd stay with at least one of them.

"What's going on here? What am I missing?" Bucky demanded, pointing between the duo. He had assumed that Clint was going to be leaving tomorrow for training. But they way Steve and Clint were acting-

"They ain't gonna train me, at all. Just send me out with you," Clint clarified once again mentally cursing Erskine for rushing his recruitment. He was lucky that he already knew how to fight and fight in such a way that he'd be able to last through the war. Aww, mouth, not again! He had basically told Erskine that he could fight without the six months of training. Bucky huffed before glaring at Steve. The smaller guy looked to his friend with a sadden gaze.

"Any other secrets or issues with this whole god damn thing?" Steve and Clint winced together this time. It wasn't going well enough for Bucky learning that Clint was forced to go to war. There was no way he'd like hearing that Steve was going to do some sort of secret formula testing or whatever. And that's not even getting into the fact that Bucky isn't supposed to know about the formula until Steve saves him in Austria. Yeah, most people assumed it was Azzano, but that was where the 107th had been caught. They had been transported to a base halfway between Kitzbühel and Klagenfurt. Thirty miles behind enemy lines. It was just always easier to say Azzano cause that was what started the whole bullshit event.

"Please, drop it," Clint begged, looking to the soldier with a pained face. Bucky's sigh was heavy and angered but he nodded. Even if he didn't trust Clint as a person, Bucky could tell that the archer was trying his best to protect whatever timeline he had come from.

"Yeah, fine," Bucky hissed, taking one last harsh glare at Steve before turning and heading into his room and all but slamming his door shut in frustration and anger. Steve frowned, watching his friend go. Clint huffed even as he turned to look at the wall in front of him. God, this whole thing was fucked up. When would Tony or Bruce fix this? Could they fix this? When will he be brought home? God, don't focus on that.

"Congrats, yourself," the archer whispered, figuring he'd at least make the little guy a bit better. Steve looked to Clint in surprise. Clint slowly turned to him and snorted. "I ain't an idiot. I remember what day this was."

"That's why you didn't say anything?" Steve questioned, tilting his head a bit in curiosity. Clint nodded before looking back to the wall. He was an idiot.

"Can't change today... Though, I wish I could have skipped my own role," Clint huffed. Steve nodded. He could understand that. "Now, go to bed. Bucky and I have to leave early and I bet you anything that he's gonna want you to bring him to our pick up point."

Steve nodded again and started to move to his room before pausing. Slowly he looked back to Clint. The archer just shook his head and pointedly shifted to lay down on the couch. There was a moment before the archer winced and Steve smirked.

"Ya sure?" Steve wondered knowing how uncomfortable that couch was. He had been forced to rest on it before as Bucky never wanted to leave him out of his sight when he got too bad. Clint sighed.

"I've slept on worse and will be sleeping on worse out there," the archer replied, trying his best to get comfortable. Steve snorted but headed to his bedroom anyways. Clint waited a minute or two before he sat back up. He sighed out a groan and yet again dropped his head into his hands. God, it was bad enough he let Erskine know about Steve, but now he was going to 'willingly' work beside Bucky? And likely get kidnapped in Azzano, without cluing Bucky into it? God, why did Erskine want him going to war so much? Why not just bring Clint in to the program with Steve? He was in so much shit.

* * *

The morning saw Clint getting dressed in one of the spare uniforms that had been given to him as he'd left the recruitment office. Fucking Erskine. That man just had to ruin Clint's plans for no damn reason. Steve took a bit to wake up and so they were nearly late getting to the pick up point. But once there, Clint was slightly embarrassed to be standing there as all these girls sent off their fellas while he and Bucky (more so Bucky than Clint) only had Steve. And apparently, there was no way Clint could go without a hug goodbye from Steve, even if they knew each other for a little less than a day. And no matter how much Clint protested, Steve didn't listen.

"Keep him safe, please," Steve begged into Clint's ear before Steve back away. Clint felt bad nodding his head but then again, he also knew that Bucky survived to Steve getting there and beyond till they tried to nab Zola. So, he wasn't really lying. He'd keep Bucky safe until then. Course it was gonna seriously suck when Clint would have to let Bucky fall.

"You stay safe too," Bucky countered, almost like he knew what Steve had told the archer. Steve chuckled and patted Bucky's back as they hugged. Clint smiled at them. He could really see now why Steve was all over trying to find the Sergeant. Bucky and him were more than brotherly. They were almost like the same person. You couldn't have one without the other.

"I'll be fine here," the guy promised. He still hadn't told Bucky about his own enlistment with Erskine. Not that it would have changed much at this point. Just pissed Bucky off before the man had to go to war. Clint snorted and looked away quickly as if watching other men getting their goodbyes was what made him laugh. Neither of the men seemed to notice Clint's amusement.

"Don't be too stupid, punk," Bucky said. Steve laughed.

"You too, jerk." And with that, Bucky and Clint said their final goodbyes and headed to the bus that would take them to the camp that readied them to travel across the way. It was odd getting on the bus with Bucky beside him and leaving Steve behind. This wasn't something the archer normally did. Then again, going to World War II also wasn't something he even partly expected to be doing. It took only a minute or so more before everyone was loaded and the bus began moving. A lot of guys were leaning out the windows yelling their goodbyes and catcalls to the remaining women. Clint glanced out (having gotten the window seat on the left side of the bus) and saw Steve serenely watching the bus drive away.

"Glad he can't get recruited," Bucky mumbled from beside him once Steve was out of sight. Clint looked to the soldier and saw that Bucky was facing forward, his eyes closed in relief. The sight made the archer sigh. "All the 4Fs... Just wish he'd quit tryin'."

"It means a lot to him, you know that, right?" Clint asked trying to make Bucky feel even the slightest bit better about it all. Especially seeing as he knew what was going to come in the future. Bucky snorted, turning to look at the archer.

"Yeah. Could never back away from a fight," the soldier stated as if it was a huge issue. Clint chuckled, thinking to the Steve he knew and yeah, Steve never could back away. Even if it looked like they were out numbered. Smiling himself, Bucky looked back out the front. "But, I'll follow him to hell and back if I have ta."

"Till the end of the line?" Clint whispered twisting to look out the front of the bus. Bucky jerked his head to stare at Clint who had gone pale. He shouldn't have said that. Shit... He wasn't supposed to know that outside of the future history books. It wasn't anywhere in the museums. He only knew cause Steve mentioned it before when Clint allowed the Captain to tell him some stories about Bucky after a bad nightmare. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. Just forget every now and then," Bucky called. Clint sighed, looking to the floor. Damn it... Bucky had been close to forgetting. Why couldn't he just keep his big mouth shut? "History books are right about a lot of things."

"Yeah," Clint evaded. He really didn't want Bucky to think about him living for another eighty or so years. Well, technically Bucky did, just not in the way that the Sergeant would be thinking he would. God, this whole thing was fucked up. It should have been someone else. Someone other than him. Anyone other than him.

"So, what's ya in for?" a voice from behind the duo asked. Bucky and Clint turned to look at the guy in surprise. A lot of the guys had started talking, making jokes and overall just trying to forget they were getting shipped off. "Names Cooper."

"James," Bucky introduced as Clint paled slightly. They both turned to see the archer still. Bucky frowned as Cooper tilted his head with a confused look. It took the archer a moment to shake out of it before grimacing.

"Sorry. Clint," Clint added. Cooper nodded but still stared at Clint as his coloring hadn't improved. Even Bucky looked a bit worried now. The archer sighed, looking away from the duo. Might as well admit to something. It sure as fuck wasn't going to be that 'Cooper' was his son's name. But another family member could work. "My nephew is named Cooper."

"Ah, of fightin' age?" Cooper wondered. Clint shook his head still thinking of his boy back home. Cooper was close to fighting age. Only six months shy of seventeen when Clint was brought back. Course... The war was gonna end in about two years or something. Cooper would have been safe if he traveled back here and avoided recruitment offices. Hopefully.

"Only sixteen," the archer replied, thinking of his boy that hadn't even been born. Hell, Clint hadn't even been born. Maybe even his old man hadn't married his mom yet. Maybe he could... 'Ugh, this whole thing is really fucked up,' he couldn't help but think with a grimace as he fought with himself over the idea of changing things. He had this opportunity once before and chose not to take it. There was no way he could mess with things now.

"Good, good. Maybe we can end this thing 'fore he gets old enough," Cooper said. Bucky focused on Clint, waiting to see the archer's reaction. Clint grimaced even harder at the thought before he looked to Bucky. The Sergeant had an eyebrow raised in question. It took Clint a moment before he realized Bucky was searching him for clues. Jesus. Was Bucky gonna be doing this the whole time?

"Maybe," the archer muttered finally, looking back to the ground. Bucky sighed as Cooper sat back down, suddenly not too keen on speaking with the archer anymore but his gaze never left the archer. It took a few moments before Clint realized someone was staring at him. He looked over to see Bucky staring at him with curiosity written all over his face. The archer moaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Please."

"I won't ask," the soldier stated but Clint could tell that Bucky knew. Clint groaned as Bucky thankfully looked away. Yeah, he was going to ruin the future so bad. Covering his face wasn't enough anymore. Dropping his hands, Clint hit his head against the back of the seat. Bucky glanced over once again. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just. I used to be a spy... Was damn good at my job too. And now... I can't keep anything secret," Clint mumbled, making sure his voice was soft enough that no one could listen in but Bucky could still hear him. Bucky snorted. The sound drew Clint's attention. All he did though was crack an eye open to look at him.

"It's okay. Hard to keep things secret when I'm watching for your reaction," Bucky chuckled. Clint hung his head. That was almost worse. Bucky didn't know him. Clint couldn't be that obvious. Could he?

"I normally can school my reactions," the archer bemoaned once again. Bucky sighed before raising his arm and draping it over Clint's shoulders. Clint huffed a laugh and leaned in. "God, Tasha'd kill me if she saw me now."

"Tasha?" Bucky repeated. Clint groaned and tried to bang his head again but was stopped by Bucky's arm. Oh my god. How much worse can he get at this? He was totally gonna be made fun of when... If he returned. Fuck time travel. This whole thing was fucked up.

"My best friend." Bucky nodded but said nothing else. In fact, the rest of the ride was rather quiet between the two of them. A bunch of the others guys behind them compared papers. Outside of Bucky and Clint, only two more guys were from the 107th. Everyone else was destined to be a part of another group. The other men were further in the back of the bus so Bucky and Clint couldn't really socialize with either of them. It took about three hours for them to get to 'camp' and everyone unloaded themselves quickly as if anticipating a fight happening within moments of exiting, even if they were on the wrong side of the ocean for it. **(Please note, I am not military at all. All of the information about war has been online research, a helpful military friend, pure guess and imagination. Do not take any of it to heart!)**

"ATTENTION!" a voice loudly demanded. Only a few guys (Clint included) made themselves ramrod straight. Bucky took a moment longer before he followed Clint's example. Apparently training hadn't fully instilled in Bucky's memories as well as expected. Clint almost smirked but decided he'd have to practice being straight faced. There was no way he'd let anything else slip. Sadly, judging by Bucky's snort, Clint failed. If they weren't currently standing at attention (in the past), Clint totally would have turned and stuck his tongue out at him. "Everyone find your units!"

The groups split off, asking around. Most of their bus took off for the other side of the camp. Unsure what to do, Clint stayed back with Bucky as the Sergeant looked about. There was no clues on anyone's regiment. Not that Clint hadn't already assumed as much based on the uniforms that Bucky and he were currently sporting.

"See anything that lets us know?" one of the guys from their bus that hadn't wandered off questioned. Clint looked to him. He was one of the men that had been on the bus. Guy had loudly introduced himself as Mike Wallace of the 107th after someone in the front complained that they couldn't hear the back people's names. Behind him stood the other guy, Eric Newmen.

"Gotta ask around I guess," Bucky muttered even though none of them moved. Clint turned around, trying to find someone. As he did, he spotted Dugan. If he remembered correctly, Dugan had been part of the 107th. Slowly, he headed over to the guy. Bucky easily slipped himself beside the archer. Clint grimaced. Of course Bucky would follow. "He someone you know too?"

"Kinda. Personal friends with one of his grand-kids," Clint answered, not adding that he had been part of the grand-kid's death during the whole Loki incident. Dugan turned to look at the four that were coming his way. "Hey, part of the 107th?"

"Yeah, how'd ya guess?" Dugan wondered, honestly curious. He hadn't actively been looking for anyone. Clint shrugged. Wasn't like lying to him was gonna change anything. Hopefully Bucky just went along with it.

"Lucky guess," the archer replied. Bucky tried his hardest not to laugh but he must have made some type of reaction cause Clint elbowed him in the gut. They'd both would have to watch themselves out here. Clint doubted others would be as forgiving as Steve and Bucky had been after learning he knew what was going to come next.

"Yeah, good guess," Dugan retorted. "Corporal Timothy Dugan. But call me Dum Dum or just Dugan."

"Really?" Mike asked. Dugan glared at the kid. Clint raised an eyebrow. No one had mentioned that Dugan had been a Corporal this early into war. He doubted it was even mentioned in the Howling Commando museum. But he did remember Steve once telling him that Dugan had possibly stolen the medal from someone and just never took it off. Could Steve have been wrong this whole time?

"Really."

"Sergeant James Barnes. Call me Bucky," Bucky introduced before Dugan could seemingly beat the living crud out of the guy. Mike hardly noticed. Dugan reached out and shook his hand with a smile before looking to Clint. The archer blinked a few times before realizing he had to say who he was.

"Private Clint Barton," the archer added, hiding his wince as he realized he kept introducing him with his actual name. Then again, with Bucky beside him, it wouldn't do well to produce a fake name. Dugan and he also shook hands. When Dugan's attention slipped to the next guy, Bucky patted Clint gently on the back as if he knew what Clint had been thinking of.

"Mike Wallace," Mike said, holding out his hand even though Dugan was focused on Eric. After a second, Mike kinda waved his hand to try and get the Corporal's attention. Dugan ignored it. Hell, he hardly even looked at the guy.

"Eric Newmen," Eric called. Dugan shook his hand. Clint chuckled lightly. He hadn't realized that Dugan could hold a grudge from something so simple. He'd have to ask Steve later if Dugan had always been like that. Around them a few more guys gathered. One of them looked over and nodded his head to them. Bucky nodded his head back and they headed over.

"107th?" the first guy asked.

"Sergeant James Bucky Barnes," Bucky replied. The men looked relieved.

"Aaron O'Reilly," one answered holding a hand out to the group. Clint shifted forward.

"Clint Barton," he told them. After that it was easy going.

"Zach MacMurry," the another said. By the end they had Cole (who refused to add a last name which pissed Clint off cause, he coulda done that?), Reilly Evans (call me Evans), Peter Ramsey, Danny Little and Oscar Brown. That made their group twelve people strong. Clint sighed. Okay... Okay. If only these other ten people knew about him then history would be safe. All Clint had to do was defect early on. Right? Or should he actually stay? Hell, would Bucky even let him attempt to defect or run away? Doubtful.

"107th! FALL IN LINE!" a voice shouted out to them. Everyone moved closer and stood at attention. "I WANT ALL NON PRIVATES HERE!"

Bucky (after a quick side glance at Clint) and Dugan moved forward, leaving the ten privates behind. They joined what Clint could now correctly assume was the Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel. For a moment, the group of what looked to be maybe thirty to forty men all began to converse with the man in charge. Okay, that was more than Clint expected over here. The rest of the men might already be at war considering the 107th was actually a pretty old regiment but still, it was more than he expected. Especially on this side of the ocean.

"Damn man. That's a lotta guys," Cole grunted. Clint glanced around at the men surrounding them. There looked to be maybe somewhere between seven hundred to maybe a thousand men. Mentally breaking it down a bit to how many men would go under the Corporal or Sergeants, Clint wasn't all that surprised at the amount of waiting men verses men with the Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel. Now, it was just a matter of learning who this dude was. It wasn't much longer after that before Dugan and Bucky returned to the group.

"You all willing to be under my command?" Bucky questioned, looking everyone over with a close eye. Clint nodded his head, nearly about ready to salute the Sergeant but figured Bucky would laugh him off. Hell, he'd laugh it off himself. So when, Eric, Zach, Danny, Mike and Oscar had no such issue doing so, the sight made Bucky sigh and Clint snickered. That's what he expected. Apparently, no matter how much Future Bucky denied it, he was almost completely back to normal with how Past Bucky acted.

"You gonna get us killed?" Aaron hissed as if Bucky had any control over that. Almost everyone turned angered glares at him. Clint lunged as if to attack but Bucky gripped his shoulder, stopping the archer from doing anything. As stupid and as mean as it sounded, it was a question that could be asked, if not nicer. There had been rumors being spread around that some of the higher ups, Sergeants being one of them, tended to not care about any of the privates and would send them off knowing it'd be sending them into a trap.

"Dude," Peter snapped. "You can't fucking ask that!"

"Oh fuck off. I got a girl waiting at home and I wanna make sure I come back," the private growled. Bucky glanced at Clint who narrowed his eyes at the other man. After a second, Bucky squeezed Clint's shoulder, making the archer look to him. Bucky was giving him a questioning look. For a moment, Clint had no idea what Bucky wanted from him. When he realized, Clint nearly smacked the Sergeant. Instead he, frowned and then shrugged. If Bucky was going to constantly look to him for answers, the man had another thing coming. Clint had no idea who survived outside of the Howling Commandos. Hell, he doubted he'd even last that long considering there was no mention of his name in history. But, he also had no idea still if he was on his timeline. What if him being here made the Commandos never form? Or have them killed? What if Bucky died before Azzano?

"We all wanna come home ya douche," Peter retorted before looking to Bucky with a determined gaze. "I'm good on ya."

"Same here," Cole agreed with a nod. Evans nodded as well and attention was drawn back to

Aaron. It took the man an extra moment to realize they were all waiting on him. He stood a bit straighter.

"Ya know what, we don't need ya," Dugan suddenly declared. "So, fuck off to find another guy who'd take ya." The group turned to him surprised. None of them had expected that. When Aaron didn't move, Dugan nodded his head to another group near them. "Go on, git."

"I'll... I'll stay," Aaron finally agreed and it was just in time too as suddenly they were joined by another man. Distantly, Clint noted the bars on the man's uniform. He was a Captain. Okay, that explained the amount of men that had met with the Lieutenant Colonel or whoever. There were Captains, Lieutenants, and whatever else was needed. It was a break down of nearly an entire regiment. Likely anyone extra would be joining someone else's command already over seas.

"Sergeant, you got your crew?" the Captain asked. Bucky nodded. Clint frowned. Seriously? He glanced to Bucky surprised but Bucky didn't even look at him. While Clint had never actually researched World War II history, he hadn't actually expected that a Captain would allow the Sergeants to pick their own men for their platoon. And he would know. When he was sent on a mission to join the army when he first joined S.H.I.E.L.D, he was brought in as a Sergeant and was just handed a bunch of men. The Captain nodded and walked away, checking on the other Sergeants. Clint focused on Bucky.

"You serious?" the archer wondered as the Sergeant turned back to look at the group. Bucky nodded. No way in hell was he gonna allow Clint to be taken by someone else. The 'future-guy' was totally staying with him.

"Might as well," he replied as if he had thought about it long and hard. Clint huffed and shook his head. The group got in a small amount of conversation before suddenly there was another shout over the area. Clint's head snapped to attention.

"MY NAME IS CAPTAIN TRENTON BANKS AND WE ARE PART OF THE 107th," Captain Banks cried out, giving a pause. A few brave men responded with a whoop of something. Certainly not joy, though maybe it could have been. Giving free reign to go kill someone, one might feel excited for that. Highly doubtful for most of them, but possible. Clint wished he could see those men's faces once they actually killed their first person. "WE WILL BE SHIPPING OUT OF HERE AND TO GERMANY!"

There was a loud cheer from the entire crowd as if they had been waiting this entire time for permission to go on. While most of the crowd didn't want to go over, they all had at least someone here in the States that they wanted to protect. If they defeated the Germans over on their turf, none of them would come to the States. Clint, Dugan, Eric and Bucky all stayed quiet, surprised when even Aaron had let out a cheer. With that Captain Banks turned and walked away. Slowly, the group grabbed their bags and headed off to the armory to collect their weapons. Clint looked around. All these men... Some no more than eighteen years old. How... No... Why did they have to go to war? Why couldn't it have been someone older? Wiser? It hurt the archer to think about it. Azzano was only maybe four months or so away and it was a group of 200 men that had been in the attack. Either they were the only insane idiots to do it while the rest stayed behind or there had only been around that number to begin with. Damn it, he really didn't want to watch anyone die.

* * *

The trip to Germany was easier than Clint expected it to be. Bucky kept watching Clint for any tell tale signs that they'd get into any issues while Clint tried his best to simply school his expressions. He had to think of this as a mission. A mission to keep these men safe, like a bodyguard or something. Yeah, he could do that. Right? Bucky shifted to sit closer to Clint. He must have made a face or something.

"Hey," the Sergeant whispered. Clint slowly looked to him. "You're gonna be okay."

"I know you will. Dugan will... I don't know about the rest of us. We ain't in no history books," Clint whispered figuring he might as well give up hiding the 'lesser' important things to the Sergeant. He needed to be sure that Bucky wouldn't be looking to him for every answer on every decision. Bucky frowned before looking around at the nine other men that had joined their little group. This wasn't going to be good for any of them. It was likely that they'd all die... Same would be true with any other regiment, but still. Bucky wasn't sure how he was going to keep everyone safe. Almost as if sensing what Bucky was thinking, Clint nudged the soldier making Bucky look to him. "Hey, don't think about that. Just lead us like how you'd normally do it. Don't think about who may or may not come out of each battle."

Bucky nodded. Yeah, he could do that. Then doubt crept back in. "But-"

"Don't think about it, Buck. Things will go how they are supposed to," Clint interrupted. Bucky huffed a small laugh that made Clint place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. Feeling slightly better, Bucky gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Bucky whispered but Clint could tell he was still nervous. Clint huffed. He really wasn't good at giving out these types of cheering up speeches. Hell, it was normally Steve that did that. Except Sokovia... And Clint's Sokovia's speech sucked. But it seemed to have worked for Wanda. Somehow, Steve's was worse. 'You get killed... Walk it off.'

"Everything will be fine," Clint added, suddenly remembering, he could use magic. A protection spell specifically to keep the group safe. He'd have to be careful to not be seen by anyone but, it's be worth it. Hell, he could even finally drop the spell that had him collecting magic from other sources so he'd be stronger. Likely there wouldn't be any other magic users during World War II. And if there was, Clint hoped the were on the other side so he could freely drain them. When the spell dropped, Clint couldn't help but feel pure relief. Wow, he hadn't realized how much he had mentally focused on keeping the damn spell active. That was another thing Loki had forced on him, keeping that spell active even while sleeping. Bucky huffed out a quick laugh before looking to Clint.

"Honestly, I ain't worried that much about these other guys. I'm worried what happens to you. Wouldn't be cool of me to have possibly allowed you to go back in time only for you to die," Bucky softly mentioned pointing out that if he knew Clint in the future, he'd stop Clint dying. Clint smirked even as he mentally cringed. He couldn't save either of them. Jesus... How was he going to explain that to them when he got back? Explain how he knew they both were protecting him but he could not return the favor. Then again... If he was on the same timeline. They'd have had to do the same thing for him. Right?

"Well then. I guess I don't die," the archer chuckled. Bucky snorted.

"Or, I forgot about you." Clint made a disgruntled face at that. Honestly, Bucky could have easily forgotten about him. And if Clint died before Azzano, Steve wouldn't know. Oh he was totally fucked now. God damn time travel.

"Don't tell me that." This time Bucky really did laugh. It even helped release some of the nerves he had been holding onto. Clint smirked. Yeah, he was good. But then Clint really thought about what Bucky said. If this was the same timeline of his Steve and Bucky... Would they have somehow sent him back just to die? Or did they know he'd somehow come back? And why did they never say anything? For some reason the fact that it was never mentioned pissed him off more than he assumed. Steve knew him for years. With his eidetic memory, the Captain would remember.

"GOING DOWN BOYS! PREPARE YOURSELFS!" Captain Banks shouted out, getting to his feet to check on the men. Clint snorted.

"Does he never not scream?" the archer mumbled. Bucky tried not to laugh but one did escape him and Banks turned to look at the duo before shaking his head and moving on. The look he gave them had them both dissolving into chuckles once they were certain he wasn't paying attention to them. Two minutes later, the 107th was getting off their plane and heading out into the first of many camps they would be visiting this war.

"DON'T PUT YOUR STUFF DOWN BOYS! WE'RE JUST HERE FOR ORDERS!" Banks screamed. Bucky and Clint chuckled again even as Dugan moved to stand by them. Banks headed off to find whoever was in charge of the camp.

"I miss something, boys?" Dugan asked, drawing their attention. Bucky shook his head while Clint tried to suppress his smile. They'd explain it to him later in private. "If you say so."

"Where you think we gonna be going?" Mike wondered. Everyone had quickly learned that Mike wasn't all that bright in the head. It was kinda endearing about him but also a bit annoying.

"The front line, dumb-ass," Aaron snapped. Now, this guy's temper kept getting the better of him. One that Clint couldn't wait to see out on the battlefield but in the mean time it pissed the rest of them off. Clint wasn't sure anyone would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the man. Even if he was part of their group. It was then that Banks returned.

"Alright boys! We're headed off for-" Banks called out, for once not being as loud as he could have been. Hence Clint didn't hear the name of where they were being sent too. Clint huffed but said nothing about it. Bucky attempted to look at Clint for any clue as to how this was gonna go, but Clint honestly had no idea what to expect. There was not really much mention on what Bucky dealt with before Azzano. Nor any of the other Commandos. It's why he had been surprised to see Dugan had been working beside Bucky even before. Or did he already change the future by having them work together? Fucking _Back to the Future _and time travel shit.

"Think we're gonna get some good action here?" Zach asked as they started marching out of base camp. Clint snorted, looking to the man. Action wasn't something he really wanted to get involved in.

"Why do you want action so soon? Thought we'd all want ta avoid it for a bit," Clint wondered. Zach shrugged, glancing over to the archer.

"Faster we win, faster we go home," Zach pointed out. There was a small cheer from the people around them as they thought about Zach's logic. Clint laughed but didn't dispute the man. It was the truth, even if Clint knew how long they still had in the war. Bucky glanced over to Clint quickly and the archer couldn't help but glare at him. He had just told the guy to stop counting on him knowing everything.

* * *

**So, what did everyone think? Like it so far? I hope so.**

**Darius is doing well. School and daycare are really exciting for him and he's made a lot of friends. In a few weeks time, I'll learn if he keeps going to school or if it will just become Daycare. Either way, life won't seriously change. I think. Having an interesting time keeping the house clean today. He's home all day on Fridays and so the house normally ends up a mess. We got into a fight before naptime as he refused to clean so I grabbed a trash bag and started collecting stuff. He got upset and I just told him to clean or I'd throw it away and what I didn't throw away, our dog, Appa would eat. Kinda worked. But, right after nap. Back to making a huge mess.**

**Baby Jason hasn't been around me that much this week. Mostly upstairs with his parents or out. The few times that he has been around, he's been happy as all heck. Laughing and smiling. Outside of once a day crying over getting a bottle. Last night hubby and I got to watch Baby Jason for a bit. There were a few times I thought hubby would kill the kid with laughter but everything went fine. Till like the last five to ten minutes of waiting for his parents to return. Then, the little guy got mad cause we didn't feed him. Ah well. Least he was happy for most of it.**


	3. War Ain't SHIELD

CHAPTER 3 - War Ain't S.H.I.E.L.D

Clint had no idea where they were. No one said anything about anything. And traveling in 1943 was so much more different than in his time. There were fields were houses were. Towns where cities should be. He was lost. Not that it seemed to matter much. Everyone seemed a little lost. Likely, most of these men hadn't traveled outside of the US. Never mind to wherever they currently where.

"Looks like we're camping under the stars again boys," Dugan announced suddenly. Clint perked up, surprised. Really? He hadn't expected that. He'd expected that they'd make it to at least one of the various camps spread about the area. Well, serves him right for assuming. Apparently there weren't as many as he had expected. But even after Dugan called that out, they still kept walking. Where was the camping point?

"Again? When we gonna get any action?" Zach muttered, a little sick of all the walking. There were a few sounds of protest and agreement that spread around the area. None of them had seriously thought that war seemed to be more walking than anything. "We need a battle soon."

"You seriously complaining that we haven't seen battle yet? I for one am thankful for that," Cole grumbled. A few people let out a 'here, here' to the man's statement. Clint snorted. For men who had seemed so excited to fight before, a lot of them seemed to have changed their minds. Not that Clint blamed them. He didn't wanna see battle either but no war was won without a battle or two.

"Without a battle, the war can't be won," the archer pointed out. The others hummed their own agreements. "But, that's not saying I'm wanting one this soon."

"Ah, fuck off Barton," Zach snorted. Clint rolled his eyes with a smile even as the other man came over and attempted to elbow him. He jumped out of the way accidentally bumping into Bucky as he did so. The Sergeant stumbled half a step before Clint was able to right both of them.

"Guys, can we just not," Danny muttered. "I just wanna lay down for a bit and rest, ain't cool to be still walking."

"Personally, I just wanna make sure where we camp is well protected," Mike retorted before they all watched as suddenly the group in front of them seemingly vanished. The group paused before they realized the group in front of them had just went down into something. Moving forward a bit more, Clint noticed it was a trench. Well, that made more sense. "Okay. That's protected."

"Alright boys, head down in and find a spot," Bucky ordered, waiting for everyone to head down. Dugan and Clint also stayed behind, making sure everyone else was protected in case they were snuck up upon. Once in the trench, Clint looked around. It was larger than he had expected it to be. While the entire regiment couldn't fit in this one trench, at least five or more platoons could comfortably hang out together. Smiling, Clint followed his group through the trench, trying to find a place to rest. Ironically enough, this trench was already full. So Bucky led them out of it and into another one nearby. That one had enough room for them, but not all that comfortably. "Okay, we can take here or keep looking."

"Here," Jason stated.

"Keep looking," Aaron snapped. He had never liked sleeping uncomfortable. In fact, most of the time that the group had been together, Aaron was typically the first one to complain about something. If he wasn't complaining, he was arguing or fighting someone, in their platoon or not. Clint had had to break him out of a few fights already and the archer was tempted to just let him get his ass handed to him next time it happened.

"I think keep looking. There has to be another place," Matt added. "Don't want us all trapped together if something happens."

"I was gonna choose stay, but Matt has a good point. We should keep going," Eric said.

"Keep looking," Peter agreed. Hugh, who hardly spoke, nodded his head in agreement as well.

"Yeah, let's go," Evans called. Bucky looked to the remaining group. Slowly, everyone began to agree. Then the Sergeant stopped at Dugan and Clint.

"Not like it matters much, but lets go," Dugan grumbled. Clint huffed but nodded. Sadly, Jason had been the only one to state that they should stay but it was clear that after Matt pointed out their issue, he had changed his mind. Agreeing himself, Bucky led them out of the trench and off to find another one. Clint was the one who found this one. Only two other platoons where in this one.

"Good thing we moved," Oscar chuckled before spotting a nice spot to lay down. Slowly, everyone else followed in his footsteps until it was just Bucky and Clint still standing.

"You gonna find a spot?" Bucky questioned as the others settled and turned to look at them. Clint shook his head no.

"Gonna be on the look out. Can't trust that we'll hear from the other trenches if we get attacked. At least someone should be up and watching," the archer replied. Bucky frowned and went to speak but Clint just shook his head no again. "You need a clear head. Rest."

"If you're sure," the Sergeant grumbled but headed off to settle himself. Apparently one of the other platoons agreed with Clint cause after everyone started to sleep, another man got up and looked out over the edge. Clint nodded and smiled at the man who simply nodded and smiled back. The two of them stayed up for nearly two hours before someone from another platoon came over to relieve one of them. Clint made sure it was the other guy. The archer knew he could last a good long while without sleep.

The night ended up getting hindered an hour or so later by a cloud of fog rolling in. Noticing it, the other watcher gave Clint a thankful nod. With the fog there wasn't a high likely hood of getting an enemy warning out in time. It was on the verge of Clint's ability to stay awake when there was a call echoing around the area. The enemy had found them. Cussing, Clint spun and began waking the others in the trench. The other spotter turned and started to do the same.

"Whaz goin on?" Dugan slurred when Clint woke him. Hearing the noise, Clint clamped a hand over the Corporal's mouth. That woke the man up faster. Clint held a finger to his lips. Who knew how far away the enemy was. Keeping silent was their best option at the moment. Slowly, everyone woke up and prepared themselves for battle. Muttering the protection spell quickly under his breath, Clint shifted himself to look back out across the trench, ignoring the dizziness that almost had him drop. Bucky was heading down the trench, making sure everyone was awake and prepared to fight. A minute later, just as Bucky was returning, Clint spotted something.

"GET DOWN!" Clint screamed as a grenade got lobbed toward the trench they had found themselves in. The group ducked and covered themselves as dirt and rocks rained down on them seconds later. Bucky looked up at Clint with a surprised look that quickly turned curious. Clint gritted his teeth, really not wanting wanting to get into how good his eyesight was at the moment. They needed to concentrate on the battle that was rapidly coming too them. So, instead, he jumped up to look over the lip and start shooting through the dust and fog, distantly noticing some shapes of what had to be people. He could only pray that they were enemies and not some of his guys. Bucky soon jumped up a bit beside him but didn't look over the lip.

"Ain't worried about killin' someone who shouldn't be killed?" the Sergeant whispered finally curious after the archer had already killed a bunch of guys. Then again, they hadn't honestly found themselves alone enough to talk about future stuff and this was the first actual battle they had gotten into since arriving. Clint huffed, having already mentally prepared himself for the likely possibility that he wasn't on his timeline. If he was on his timeline, even if he never told Bucky and Steve what was coming to them here, he was going to make them understand that he was pissed. They could have given him some sort of hint, like he was. Not that he wanted too.

"Ya want me to sit down and do shit?" Clint countered, his eyes twitching to look at Bucky before focusing out onto the field. Bucky snorted before turning and shooting out of the trench as well. As they shot, the others around them began getting up and following their example. Problem was, not many of them could see through the cloud of smoke, fog and flying dirt to hit the correct people like Clint and Bucky could. They just shot willy nilly. "This is ridiculous. We need to do something to change the damn tide here."

"Like what? Go running out into no man's land?" one of the soldiers nearby snapped. It was the man who had first gotten on duty with the archer. Bucky turned to him, upset but then turned back and kept firing. "Go ahead, go get yourself killed."

"I just might," the archer growled, looking briefly to figure out the best way to jump to the next trench. With his protection spell active... And maybe using Izril, Clint could make it. That'd certainly change the tide of this battle... But how long was this supposed to have happened? How many enemy men do they kill? Before he could even attempt anything, Bucky grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him down, stepping deeper into the trench.

"Don't you fucking dare," the Sergeant hissed. Clint huffed and looked back out. If he could save everyone here, he was gonna do it. History be damned.

"I can do it," he argued, turning to look at Bucky again. Bucky shook his head, determined to keep another blonde idiot safe.

"We need ya here, not getting yourself killed," Bucky pointed out. Clint snarled. He was not going to be told what to do. Bucky wasn't his handler and while the man was a Sergeant, Clint was technically a Second Lieutenant in the future but he couldn't say that now.

"I can do it, Buck," Clint pressed. Bucky pushed Clint harshly against the wall of the trench.

"You ain't doin' it," he ordered. Clint growled, moving to push Bucky off of him. Suddenly, one of the younger guys (that Clint had shared sentry duty with) from another other unit shifted past the duo and stupidly perked up too high. And before either man could pull him back down a bullet ripped through his head and both Clint and Bucky got splattered with the man's skull and brain tissues. Bucky blanched as Clint stilled. It was here that Clint was struck as to what was happening around him. He was seriously in a fucking war. This wasn't anything like his missions for S.H.I.E.L.D, or even the missions with the Avengers. Yes, Clint had seen people die in S.H.I.E.L.D missions, but they were missions. One battle and then they'd head back to base, not having to worry about a sneak attack. Things were different here. There wasn't going to be a safe place or a return home waiting for him. Things were much worse than Steve or Bucky had ever let on. How were they not fucking insane?

"Get over here!" Zach shouted to them. Bucky and Clint nodded, moving closer to the larger man. Both of them tried to wipe everything off their heads and faces. Zach took a look at them before nodding his head and turning back. "How the hell we gonna get out of this?"

"No idea," Bucky called back. The trio shifted down the trench, trying to find out if Captain Banks was anywhere nearby. As they went, Clint stopped, staring at one of the bodies who had dropped. It was Mike. The kid moaned, looking up to Bucky and Clint. The archer growled, shifting down to look and see what happened. Mike had gotten a decent sized hit to his right shoulder. A quick check of his back had Clint note that it wasn't a through and through. The archer cussed. Apparently his protection spell didn't work like it was supposed to. This sight was at least something he was slightly used to. S.H.I.E.L.D missions didn't always go a hundred percent well and there had been many times that Clint had to help an injured comrade. But seeing it here now, had a different sort of feeling that passed through him. Maybe it was simply because Clint knew he had casted the spell that didn't work.

"Jesus," he whispered, trying to shake the idea of being in a war away. Mike let out another small moan as Clint glanced around the area trying to see if there was anything he could push against Mike in order to stop the flow of blood. He was used to this shit. But now he wondered if he should yet again reinforce the protection spell. Damn magic. Did he somehow cast the spell wrong? Bucky turned back and saw what Clint saw. He gritted his teeth.

"Barton, we gotta move," Bucky softly informed. Clint winced before looking and spotting a guy nearby that clearly looked like he was freaking the fuck out. The archer grabbed the guy and shoved him near Mike.

"Put pressure on this. We'll send some medics to help when we find them," Clint ordered. The guy nodded, more than willing to help Mike if it meant he didn't have to get up and shoot. Pleased that Mike was going to be cared for until a medic came by, Clint got up and headed after Bucky when the Sergeant moved away. "Where the hell is Captain Banks?"

"Dead," a strange voice cried back. Clint and Bucky stilled. It was their first battle. How had the idiot gotten himself killed?

"Think the highest rank we got nearby is a Sergeant," someone else added. Clint frowned, glancing to Bucky who had now gone a bit paler than before.

"Bullshit," the archer snapped. There had to be a Lieutenant somewhere. Or two. "There has to be someone else."

"Not here there ain't," Cole stated in a harsh tone as he came up behind them. Evans, Peter and Danny were behind him. Where was Eric, Aaron, Zach, and Oscar? Hell, where the fuck was Dugan? Bucky huffed, looked around the trench. While the trench was rather large it was possible that Bucky and a few others were the highest rank as the others could be elsewhere in the trenches. But damn it sucked.

"Sergeant Barnes, what are we doin'?" Danny demanded. Bucky frowned, glancing to Clint who just shrugged. He knew the 107th had to have survived here but he never knew how. No one had really gone into detail about it. And Clint also had no idea who made it through. God, what about Mike? Will he live through this first fucking battle?

"Alright! Lets move out!" Bucky informed, pointing to the next trench angled away from them. The troops winced but got ready to follow Bucky's lead. As they ran, Clint and Bucky shot any moving thing they could as the troops ran to safety, helping those injured. It didn't take long before a few other men began following their example. All the remaining living troops, and a good chunk of injured men, made it to the next trench. Here there were a few medics willing to check over the injured. It was also here that Bucky, Clint and now the returned Dugan heard that Mike was going to have to be sent home. The damage to his shoulder was too bad to stay fighting. What none of them knew was Mike was never destined to make it home. He would die of infection in route to the transport.

* * *

The next two battles found that Bucky wasn't always leading the group on his own but there were many times that he was left in charge as the Lieutenants were busy with someone else. And if it wasn't Bucky, Dugan and Clint easily stepped up. Clint was honestly surprised that Bucky never raised in rank considering all he did for the 107th. It was kinda unfair really. But, then again, with all the hazing that Clint had seen with others gaining the attention from the higher ups, Clint was kinda glad that Bucky didn't.

Course, the more battles they were involved in, the more people noticed the competency of Bucky, Dugan and Clint. It wasn't all that long before people started to petition taking the spot that Mike had left open. But with the added attention from everyone Clint couldn't help but wonder why more people didn't know about him in the future? Though, it could be that his name was mentioned in the future of a completely different future than he came from. He could only hope that wasn't the case. He wanted to return to his family. His friends. If this was a different future, he might not have those things.

"LET'S MOVE OUT!" someone shouted after spending only one night at the newest camp. Didn't sound like any Captain they had meet before but everyone in the 107th listened. This guy also didn't tell anyone anything else. So, they were moving without knowing where to.

"Jesus, where we going now?" Aaron complained. "This guy gonna tell us anything?"

"They technically don't have to tell us shit. Banks and Hutcherson had been nice enough to do it for us," Clint informed with a deep sense of foreboding. Bucky huffed angrily. Eric simply grabbed a bunch of their things and headed off. Zach was right behind him. Rolling his eyes, Clint headed out too with Bucky, Dugan and Aaron following next. Cole had gotten injured in their last battle and was stuck in the medical tent at this camp. He wasn't well enough to follow them but also not hurt enough to have been sent home. Evans, Peter and Danny were quick to follow the group but Oscar took a moment to get ready. He had been stupid enough to not fully pack back up after they stopped for the night.

"Still don't mean this guy's not an asshole," Dugan snipped. Everyone hummed in agreement.

The next camp they got to was overwhelmed with people. There was hardly room for any of the regiments that were stopped. As officers, Bucky and Dugan were given cots to rest on for their designated tent but the rest of them had to sleep on the ground.

"This is bullshit," Aaron whined as he tried to get comfortable, moving this way and that. The others tried to ignore him. He'd been going on it for a good long while and they were getting a bit sick of the complaining. Hell, Danny had nearly taken the guy out a few nights ago. "Why the fuck would we get sent here if there weren't enough room?"

"Dude, shut up!" someone from a nearby tent shouted. Aaron growled, sitting up.

"Who the fuck said that?" he demanded. Clint then sat up. He was done with this bullshit. There was no way he'd let Aaron continue on like this. Bucky sat up as well, looking to Clint in confusion. He really didn't want to see the archer fight with one of the other men.

"Just stop man. We're all tired. Nearly all of us are sleepin' on the ground. Just make the best of it and fucking try to sleep," the archer snarled. Aaron hissed at him, moving closer.

"Then let me have your area. Must be nice and comfy over there," the man snapped. Clint rolled his eyes but got up to show that the archer had been laying on some very sharp rocks that clearly was digging harshly into his back. Aaron blanched. Even the others sat up to look at the sight when they noticed Aaron's reaction. Bucky swung his feet off his cot, staring down at the spot in surprise.

"Jesus Barton," Dugan muttered. Clint shrugged, uncaring.

"You want my space, go ahead and take it," Clint dared, ignoring Dugan. Aaron looked up at him in fear. Would Clint force him to take the spot? Aaron mentally swore he'd never complain about sleeping arrangements again if Barton thought he could sleep on those rocks just fine.

"Don't think anyone wants your damn spot Barton. How the fuck can you sleep on that?" Oscar wondered.

"I've slept on worse," the archer mumbled, glancing over to the man. While Clint had never seriously wanted to talk about it, he had mentioned more of his history than he meant too. In return, they had done the same thing to him. Only Bucky really understood the impact of what Clint was saying to all of them.

"How the fuck have you slept on worse than that?" Zach questioned, shaking his head. Clint sighed, wondering what exactly he should say to that.

"Dude, and I thought I had a shitty childhood. If sharp rocks ain't the worst you've slept on-" Danny started to say when Clint rolled his eyes, choice made. He could tell them a story, just which one? Bed of nails? Uneven floor boards that could pinch him every time he moved? An actual bed of springs with not cover? The bathtub that was like three sizes too small? No, he had a good one.

"Was forced onto some burning coals once. Try sleeping on that," Clint snipped. While he had been forced to 'sleep' on burning coals, it had been during a torture session, not some a-hole parent tossing him into the fireplace to sleep. Getting a bit lost in memory and anger, the archer headed toward the front of the tent. "Fuck this. I'm gonna head somewhere else."

"Clint," Bucky called but the archer ignored him. He wasn't gonna lay there and deal with any of this. Hell, he needed to calm down. No... What he needed was to fucking shoot. Growling, Clint headed off and out of camp, intent on finding somewhere nice and private. It took maybe five minutes before he found a space. He was near enough to camp to hear the warning calls and signs of enemy attacks while also putting himself out of view from the sentries. Sighing, Clint called upon Izril. Even just holding the bow felt like such a relief. But it wasn't enough.

"God damn it," the archer growled to himself before raising it and whispering the spell Loki had taught him. The arrow appeared and before the image could settle, Clint released it into a nearby tree. A smaller range than Clint really cared for but if he went somewhere else, he risked the idea of being spotted by either side of this war. He was maybe fifteen arrows deep when he heard the gasp of surprise. Clint spun, aiming the bow dead at Bucky of all people. Behind him stood Dugan, Evans, Zach, Eric and Peter. "Fuck."

"Barton?" Dugan wondered, staring at the sight before him. Clint lowered his bow with a deep sigh. This was seriously fucking messed up. Could he maybe play this off as a group dream or something? Maybe that he stole the bow off of someone else in camp? "What the fuck is this?"

Clint ended up not saying any thing. Just looked back at the tree completely filled with arrows. There was a choked noise from someone in the group. Slowly, Clint looked back, his eyes pained. It was clear that Clint had no quiver and there was no pile of arrows beside him. They also knew he hadn't left the tent with a bow. Eric headed off toward the tree with Peter right behind him. Dugan, Zach and Evans were frozen. Bucky stepped forward, looking down at the bow in curiosity. Clint took a step back. "Buck."

"Dude," Eric stated from down the range. Clint glanced over and noticed that Eric had taken one of the arrows down. He winced. Not only was it bad enough that they found him with the bow and magic arrows but, there was no way he could play it off that those arrows had been designed in this time period. He had based the arrows off of the Stark Tech ones he was typically used to use. He should have made them vanish as he shot. "What the fuck?"

"Clint," Bucky suddenly said from beside the archer. Clint jumped, shifting himself backwards a bit, afraid of what the Sergeant was going to do. Bucky didn't mind his magic in the future. Hell, he seemed to enjoy watching Clint train and practice. But that was the future when Bucky had already been exposed to a lot of unexplained or strange events/things. "What is this?"

"Nothing? You're all dreaming the same dream?" the archer tried, giving in to try and convince them of something else. Bucky's responding look showed that even if any of the others believed him, the Sergeant would not. Figured.

"Yeah... I don't dream of some dude with a fucking bow, shooting a tree without a god damn set of arrows," Zach finally snapped. Eric returned, holding an arrow. Beside him, Peter held a few more. Clint once again winced. He was totally fucked. There was no way to rightly explain this.

"This have anything to do with-" Bucky started, trailing off as he raised an eyebrow, knowing that the archer knew what he was talking about. Clint shook his head before the Sergeant could continue or hint at anything else that would be hard to explain.

"To do with what?" Evans questioned. Clint sighed and looked away. Finally he softly muttered the vanishing spell and then dropped Izril into the pocket dimension. The noise the group made had Clint nearly run for the damn hill. But the twitch of his muscles had Bucky's hand snapping out and grabbing him.

"Buck," Clint whined, his eyes snapping to the man in sadness. He just wanted to run away. Fuck staying here any longer. Fuck watching over Bucky and Dugan. They'd be fine without him. There was no way he'd be able to keep his presence here a secret if the 107th knew about his magic.

"You know magic?" Eric asked, breaking the spell of surprise that everyone had fallen under. Heads snapped to look at the man. It took a moment before Eric realized everyone was staring at him. "What? I grew up in Louisiana before moving to New York. Magic and voodoo and shit is pretty well known down there."

"Ever see anything like that?" Zach snipped, pointing to Clint as if the archer had suddenly turned into a demon. Clint winced. They were gonna kill him. His trip to the past ends here.

"Guys, why don't we let Barton explain what the fuck we're seeing," Dugan ordered making the area descend into silence. Clint focused on the ground. He wasn't gonna say shit. Bucky's grip on his arm tightened for a moment. Clint looked up to him and noticed that Bucky was giving him a sympathetic look.

"Okay... You guys can't let anyone else know about this," the archer demanded. Everyone nodded their heads even as Bucky let the archer go. "I... I do have magic. I don't know a lot of spells. Most of what you saw is what I can do."

"But you can do some more?" Peter inquired. Clint nodded. "Like what?"

"A... A protection spell."

"A what now?" Dugan repeated.

"A protection spell," Clint answered, looking up at everyone. "I... Every morning I've been casting a spell that will... Well, should protect all of us from harm."

"Didn't work well for Mike or Cole," Evans whispered. Clint nodded.

"Fuck off," Zach snapped, looking to Evans. "You know how close Mike got to dying? Another few inches down and the guy'd be dead."

"What about Cole?" Evans hissed.

"Cole got hit by some debris from a damn cannon that hit a tree a few feet from him," Eric pointed out. "If that other dude hadn't a bumped into Cole, then he'd have been right there."

"I'm trying my best here," Clint argued finally. He didn't want to actually think about what could have happened to the men if he hadn't been casting the spells. Would Mike and Cole have died? Did it change anything so that now Steve would never wake? Or, Loki won and had to hand over the Tesseract to Thanos? "I can't guarantee shit. Hell, these are some of the first battles I been in since learning the damn spell."

"You're doing fine," Bucky soothed, dropping a hand on the archer's stressed out shoulder. Both of them ignored the fact that Clint winced, hard. Sighing, the Sergeant looked to the others. "We're gonna keep this quiet."

"Like hell!" Zach and Evans cried. Bucky glared at them as Clint tried to shift away from him. Dugan stepped forward, almost as if making sides, so that he had was near Bucky and Clint. Eric moved and did the same thing. Peter also shifted himself closer. Zach and Evans just stared at them all.

"We're gonna keep this quiet. No one can know," the Sergeant pressed. "We're lucky enough as it is to find out."

"Lucky..." Clint mumbled mostly to himself in a scoffing way. This wasn't lucky. This was Clint being an idiot. Didn't matter what the hell he was doing, outside of a mission, Clint was always an idiot. Bucky's grip tightened a bit, his gaze flicking to Clint before focusing on Zach and Evans. Dugan crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

"No one needs to know."

"Good on me," Dugan agreed with a nod and a soft smile to Clint. The archer winced. Shit... It hadn't even occurred to him that Dugan would be lasting after the war. The man was the most likely to spread the truth around. Bucky looked around at the others with a critical eye. Slowly, they all agreed. "Well. That's enough excitement for me. Let's head back and get some damn shut eye."

As Dugan led Zach, Evans, Peter and Eric back to their tent, Clint refused to move. And since Clint refused to move, so Bucky stayed. Once the others had vanished into the night, Bucky twisted himself to look straight at the archer, without releasing the archer. Clint looked away.

"You gonna be okay?" the Sergeant asked. Clint huffed. He was in a war that already happened, standing here with a man he knows in the future, allowing people to see his magic, hell, making a mark on those who could survive... How could any of this be okay for him?

"Not really. But, I don't go much choice now do I?" Clint retorted before walking off. Bucky shifted to walk at his side.

"We always have a choice." Clint stopped and turned to stare at Bucky.

"What choice do I have? I was sent back in time. Against my will. Sent to people who I know. Then sent off to a war that I know... Forget it," Clint growled, pausing at the end before shaking his head. Bucky grabbed his arm when the archer turned away once again. Clint froze.

"Clint, I'm not asking you to be okay with any of this. Hell, I'm not okay with what is going on around us. What I'm asking is if you can handle the others knowing about you? I can talk to them. Tell them to forget the whole thing happened," Bucky suggested. Clint snorted. There was no way that any of them would be willing to keep this secret. If he could protect their small platoon, why couldn't he protect everyone in the regiment. Or everyone on the American side? Clint wouldn't be able to handle that. Loki might have. But he couldn't.

"But it did happen, Buck. Nothing is gonna change that. I fucked up... Again. Story of my god damn life, but... God, what am I doing?" Clint bemoaned, curling his arms over his chest and wishing he could once again turn around and go shoot some more. Bucky just stood there, watching. "Who knows what I've changed. What I've messed up even more. I... I shouldn't have agreed to do any of this."

"Clint," Bucky started but Clint shook his head. There were no words that would make this situation any better. Clint could only kick himself for never studying the war (outside of Steve and Bucky) and for getting caught.

"Just, forget it," the archer mumbled before walking off again. Bucky sighed and slowly followed behind. Silently they headed back to their tent, catching up with the others on the outskirts of camp. At the tent, the group found that Danny and Oscar were still awake, waiting on them. Mean while, Aaron was pointedly sleeping on the mat that Eric had set for himself. Said man snarled but said nothing about it and instead just settled himself where Aaron had first been on. Clint headed back to his spot on the rocks but when he went to lay down, Peter pushed the archer over a bit. The movement made Clint frown.

"There's room over here," the man whispered. Clint gave a soft huff but shifted himself to where Peter pointed and settled in. Slowly, they all drifted off into a light sleep, thankful that no one tried to keep them awake by asking anything else about what had just happened.

* * *

"Jesus!" Zach shouted, dodging right into Clint's side in order to avoid rapid gunfire where he had first been standing. Clint shifted a bit more, giving the guy more room to move around in the battle. They hadn't found cover yet so they all pretty much stood back to back defending each other. But, that also meant they were nearly too close to be able to dodge things well. Then a cannon ball struck the ground right in front of Aaron. He cried out in shock.

"Fuck this!" the man informed before turning and rushing off. Bucky looked after him.

"AARON!" he screamed but Aaron disappeared into the surrounding area. "Shit!"

"Forget him! Fucking coward," Dugan snapped, shooting into the distance. Eric moved to cover Aaron's position a bit better. It was just five of them back to back now. Evans, Peter, Danny and Oscar were nearby, also set up in a similar situation.

"Move! We gotta find the rest of us," Clint ordered, too used to working with the Avengers and instructing the others after Steve had given them their main orders. Not that anyone tried to fight listening to Bucky, Dugan and Clint separately. Slowly, the five of them started moving, shifting Eric and Zach more toward the back, away from most of the gun fire while Bucky stayed toward the left, Dugan in the middle and Clint on the right. Noticing the others moving, Evans, Peter, Danny and Oscar took their lead and soon it was pretty much a straight like of Peter, Bucky, Dugan, Danny and Clint in the front with Eric, Zach, and Oscar leading the back end. They made it a good distance back before Clint saw movement, he turned to aim at them before noticing they were wearing familiar outfits. "Right!"

Without answering, the group began heading left, making sure they wouldn't accidentally mistake a friendly in the whole hell of a situation. At this movement, Eric and Zach turned a bit more to cover their left side while Oscar joined the front end. The other group must have noticed them cause suddenly the new group of nearly eleven people joined the nine of them.

"What are we doing? We can't find anyone else!" one of the new troops asked.

"We need to keep moving, others may have gotten behind us," Bucky replied. Clint snarled, looking in the gloom before them. It was starting to get dark and enemy troops were beginning to try and sneak behind them again. His eyes caught the sight of a shadow moving.

"Run!" Clint screamed. A bunch of the guys (Oscar, Peter and Danny included) spun and took off. The others hesitated a moment before following, Eric, Evans and Zach included. Bucky, Dugan and Clint made sure to stay behind, covering their flank. It wasn't long before they found a large collection of American troops. The group quickly integrated themselves into it.

"RETREAT!" a Captain's voice carried over the field. A lot of men dropped what they were doing and took off. Clint refused to move until a lot of the men had taken off. He was gonna cover their retreat. Bucky and Dugan noticed, staying behind as well. Eric and Peter joined them a moment later and they all watched the regiment's flank. While they didn't stop at the back, Oscar and Danny at least slowed to cover one side of the middle while Evans and Zach covered the other side. Everyone noticed that Bucky and Dugan's platoon stayed behind making themselves targets of danger while protecting the rest of them. No one joined them but they would be quick to spread word of the brave platoon.

The return to the nearest camp was faster than Clint expected it to be. Which was good cause everyone was running out of ammo. Not for the first time did Clint think about the idea of bringing out Izril and just shooting everyone with endless arrows. Thankfully, since learning about his magic, none of the others pressured Clint into doing anything. They all understood the risk Clint had taken just letting them see what he could have done before (not that that had been his choice). No one was gonna break that promise.

Once safe inside the camp, the 107th broke away from each other. Oscar and Danny had taken some minor cuts from debris and some close shots so they headed off to the medical tent. Evans, their actual medic on staff went with them, intent on filling up his pack with supplies. Eric and Zach decided they should go find some supplies for the next day while Peter headed off to find a way to get food for all of them. Bucky and Dugan left Clint alone so they could go get their place to rest in. This camp was lightly filled with men so they all got cots to sleep on. After getting their selection, Bucky headed off to inform the others. Clint used the time to wander around camp, wondering if he'd see Aaron's face somewhere in the crowd. Nearing an hour later, Clint returned to the tent, dropping onto one of the free cots. It hurt, not knowing if Aaron was safe or not. No matter how angry and annoying the guy was, he was still a 'friend.'

"Anyone seen Aaron?" Bucky wondered, slipping into the tent that Dugan had commandeered for the team. Clint grimaced. "I asked around and no one's seen him."

"MIA?" Dugan asked, looking at Bucky. The Sergeant paled. There was no way that Aaron was MIA. He was likely KIA. After seeing Bucky's reaction, Clint stood, no way in hell would he leave Bucky like that. It was bad enough having left Mike and Cole behind. To now loose Aaron would be hell on the man.

"Come on, let's go look. People might not know what Aaron looks like," the archer encouraged, making sure that none of the others would see the possibility of him breaking down. Bucky nodded and the two headed out. They searched the camp nearly five times before Bucky had to admit Dugan was right. While they had all seen Aaron run off, they had hoped that the man would have been lucky enough to catch sight of a friendly and come back to camp.

"Damn it," the man hissed. Clint sighed. It wasn't the best thing to have happened. Who knew if Aaron had gotten killed, or captured, or was still running around in the woods trying to find help. It wasn't a nice feeling. "I gotta go report this."

"Want me to come?" Clint questioned. Bucky shook his head.

"You're a Private. Be an issue if you came with me," the Sergeant pointed out. Clint huffed. He didn't care about that but Bucky was always worrying about his safety. Now Clint knew how bad Bucky's mother-henning could get. He couldn't blame Steve for not liking anyone doing it to him anymore. Nearly half an hour later, Bucky re-arrived at the tent. His face was grim.

"What happened?" Dugan inquired. Bucky made a face.

"We lost sixty people." Clint winced at the news. He knew people died. It was war and the monuments set up for those who lost their lives in the war were filled with thousands of names. But every bit of evidence or reminder of death struck Clint in the heart.

"Holy shit," Zach called. Bucky nodded.

"They're gonna merge the 107th with the 95th. They're only down to a hundred guys or so," Bucky added.

"We gonna have to get more people?" Clint huffed. Bucky shook his head no. They were thankfully large enough still that no one was gonna force shit on them. Then again, while they didn't need to get more people, Bucky and Dugan had already decided that if needed, they'd take three men.

"Shit," Eric cussed, tossing himself down onto a cot. Evans sat down near him and placed his head in his hands.

"Aaron?" Peter questioned. Bucky shrugged making the others sigh.

"For now, get some sleep. We ain't leaving for a few days so we can talk later," Bucky ordered. The group nodded before shifting themselves onto their cots and drifting off to sleep. Next morning, Bucky and Dugan headed off to check on possibly getting more people. Apparently the eleven men they had merged with on the battlefield had mentioned how Bucky and his team just easily took over and kept them safe. So, _a lot_ of people wanted to join them. Bucky ended up actually taking on three new guys. Jason Todd, Matt Perry and Hugh Gaiman.

* * *

It had been nearly one and a half months or so since the 107th headed off to the war. Without actual dates being shared, it took Bucky a few days afterwards to realize that they had missing celebrating Steve's birthday. Hell, they had actually been in battle that day. Clint calmed him by saying all of America celebrated his birthday each year. That just made the Sergeant laugh and had him reminiscing about the fact that he had had Steve believe that for years. When Clint returned, he was totally going to mention that and laugh at the Captain.

"Never knew war would be so much walking place to place," Eric bemoaned one night at like the sixth or seventh camp they had stopped at. He had taken off his boots and was harshly rubbing them to massage them. Evans and Danny were doing the same thing. Peter and Jason had headed off to the showers/buckets of water getting dumped over them. Hugh, Matt and Oscar still had yet to return from the mess tent. Zach, Dugan, Bucky and Clint were all sitting off in a corner, just watching.

"We've spent more time marching than fighting," Evans agreed.

"You'd rather spend more time fighting than marching?" Clint wondered. Evans and Eric winced. "Cause, I bet you anything we can find a place to sit you guys with ammo and food so you can hide in a hole and fight whoever comes near."

"Oh fuck off," Danny hissed. "Let us just moan."

"I've allowed it for too long," Bucky replied with a shake of his head. "We need to deal. The enemy is on the constant move and the more we move with them, the tighter we pull their ranks."

"Or they're doing that to us," Dugan muttered. Bucky and Clint turned to glare at him. Seeing their looks, Dugan raised his hands in defense.

"Look, I don't care bout that shit, I just wanna a minute to rest," Eric added. Clint pointedly looked around the tent. Eric growled and flipped him off, but he at least had a small smile on his face, this time. "You know what I meant."

"The more 'breaks' we take, the longer this war is gonna be," Bucky snorted. Eric rolled his eyes and pushed himself back against the cot, preparing himself to go to sleep. Peter than came into the tent and noticed the tension between everyone. He stilled, looking around. Shaking his head at the man, Clint once again focused on Evans, Eric and Danny.

"Might wanna put your boots back on. Don't wanna have to spend the time getting those on when you should already be shooting or running," Clint sharply suggested. Eric again flipped Clint off but did get up and put his boots back on. Evans rolled his eyes but also complied. As did Danny.

Later, the trio had to be really thankful that Clint told them to put their boots back on as the camp was attacked. Enough people were awake to send out the alarm and everyone popped up pretty quick. The battle was a bit gruesome but they won. When it was all over, Bucky, Dugan and Clint could not find a lot of the group. They broke apart, intent on finding everyone.

"Damn it," Bucky cried, walking around the camp praying that he'd find his missing teammates. Peter had gotten shot through his shoulder and so had gone to the medical tent and was soon destined for home, just like Mike had been. The way Peter had gotten hit made him lose all ability to move his arm. After looking around a while, Clint found Eric was also there, a gun graze on his right leg. The archer paused, looking at Eric with a small smirk. Eric looked to him before realizing why Clint was smiling.

"Go fuck yourself," the man snarled but using a very joking tone. Clint just chuckled before moving on. He still needed to find the others.

"Barton!" Danny's familiar voice called as the archer moved away from the medical tent. He paused, smiling to the man. Beside him was Hugh, the man was being mostly supported by Danny. It was clear that Hugh had gotten hit but Clint couldn't see how bad it was.

"Hey, good ta see you. Sergeant Barnes has been looking for ya," Clint told the guy even as he moved to help bring Hugh into the medical tent. Danny and Hugh nodded.

"Saw him earlier. Looking for Evans," Danny responded. Clint frowned and looked back toward the medical tent.

"Ain't in there," the archer stated. Danny winced and the duo continued to bring Hugh inside. Once there, Danny decided to stay and watch over their injured men. Oscar, Jason, Matt, Zach and Evans were still missing. But then Bucky headed over to them, grim faced. Clint whined. He did not have a pleased face. "Please."

"Evans was found dead near the wall. Zach got shot through the chest so someone did the end tap. And we still can't find Oscar, Jason or Matt," Bucky listed. Clint moaned before sighing.

"Peter, Hugh and Eric are in medical with Danny. Peter's going home. Can't move his arm," Clint added. Bucky nodded and Clint couldn't help but close his eyes and try not to scream to the heavens. It was then that Dugan came up to them. He looked as upset as Bucky and Clint looked. "No."

"Oscar supposedly ran for it. Jason was killed outside the gates. Matt... I can't find Matt at all," Dugan informed. Bucky winced.

"What the hell happened?" he wondered, looking about the camp. How had things gotten this bad? It had seemed like they had been all prepared for an attack. Yet they just lost seven of their members. There was only five of them left. Clint looked away with a dark grimace. This was his fault. He should have done better.

"I lost focus," the archer whispered. The duo looked to him in surprise. Clint miserably shook his head, getting more and more upset with himself. "The spell... I... I need to keep focus on it. When I sleep, the focus and spell goes away. If... If I had only casted it again."

"No, this isn't your fault Clint," Bucky tried to sooth but Clint just shook his head and took a step back. Guilt began to consume the archer. It had to have been his fault. What if they had been meant to survive but his presence here through things off?

"We are down seven people. Seven people that should have been safe thanks to the damn fucking spell! It is my fault," Clint insisted, his pain and anger leaking into his voice. Bucky and Dugan traded looks. They could tell there wasn't much they could do to make Clint understand he wasn't at fault. Clint was far too determined to blame himself. That wasn't going to happen easily. "I..."

"You say you gotta leave, I'm gonna shoot you here," Dugan snapped. Clint looked up to him surprised. "Do you know how many other platoons nearly lost everyone a few battles in? We're in pretty damn good shape considering!"

"N-" Clint started but Dugan shook his head.

"This ain't your fault. It ain't gonna be your fault. So cut it out," the man growled at the archer. Clint grimaced. "Neither one of us blame you."

"Yup," Bucky agreed as soon as Clint looked at him. Clint looked away. He couldn't do this. Figuring they needed a change of subject, Dugan sighed.

"Heard rumor that the attack scared the higher ups. We're gonna be heading out tomorrow," Dugan informed. The other two groaned, even if they were both okay with the sudden topic shift.

"Seriously?" Bucky whined. Dugan shrugged. That was just what he had heard. And indeed, the 107th headed out the next day. The injured were loaded up onto some transport jeeps and trucks, most being set to go home. Including Hugh. Matt still hadn't been found. In the next camp, Bucky, Dugan, Clint, Eric and Danny wished Peter and Hugh goodbye and luck on the rest of their life. Apparently Hugh's wound got his left knee and pretty much shattered it. He'd likely never be able to walk again, but Clint knew that at some point there would be a way to return his mobility. Peter, once again, promised to not mention anything about Clint before being sent away and Hugh... Well, Hugh hadn't really ever spoke so they just assumed he wouldn't either. So the troop continued moving on.

At the next camp (where they were set to hold out for for a few days), Clint noticed that Agent Peggy Carter and Colonel Chester Phillips had arrived and looked to have no intention of leaving. Actually, apparently, Colonel Phillips was set to be the new leader of the 107th. With dread filling his gut, Clint found himself trying his hardest to avoid either of them seeing him. He really didn't want the future Director of S.H.I.E.L.D to notice the archer wandering around. This whole thing sucked so bad. Especially seeing as Peggy loved to wander through the camp, randomly stopping to talk with the soldiers. When she made it near to their tent, Clint made sure to make himself scarce.

It took Bucky and Dugan two hours to find Clint after they realized he 'ran' for it. They found him a good distance away from camp, practicing with his bow once again. This time Clint was trying to keep the spell to active them up while simultaneously using the spell to make them vanish once they hit the mark. Would do well to be able to use that in battle one day. Not that he had ever asked Loki for help trying while on the _Milano. _Thankfully the clashing spells seemed to be doing fine.

"You don't like chicks?" Dugan asked in lieu of greeting when the two caught up to him. Clint hardly stuttered in his shooting. Just kept at it. Bucky leaned himself against a nearby tree, watching. Dugan rolled his eyes and plopped himself down on a rock. They'd wait with him as long as he'd let them.

"Nah, not that. Just her," Clint stated after a moment. Bucky snorted.

"What's wrong with her?" the Sergeant wondered. Clint grimaced, dropping his bow to aim at the ground and then Bucky knew. Peggy had to have been someone he'd likely meet in the future as well. Not worth having her see him either. The man nodded. He would totally help. No more questions needed. "Alright, we'll help ya stay hidden from her."

"Thanks," Clint sighed out, glad he didn't have to come up with some sort of lie. Dugan chuckled but nodded his head, figuring it was best to follow Bucky's example. If Bucky said that Clint needed to be kept safe from something, Dugan'd do anything within his power to help. Even if that meant 'distracting' a very nice dame. After being with Bucky and Clint for so long at this point, it was obvious the two were sharing some sort of secret. Dugan just figured it was like the magic and so he should never ask. So, he never did. Bucky and Dugan stayed with Clint as the archer took another ten minutes or so of practice before giving in. "Lets head back to camp."

When they returned to their tent, Bucky announced that they needed to keep Clint away from Peggy. Eric laughed for a moment He had taken Peter's return home pretty hard and started to get into deep trouble. Such deep trouble that Eric was once again healing from a dislocated shoulder with a warning that his next one might send him home. Totally a good incentive to 'not' get hurt again. Danny, who Bucky had to visit after, had almost lost his left leg by a buried bomb that nearly everyone in front of them missed and so he was spending this time in medical getting checked over for debris injury. They all (except Danny) knew that if Clint hadn't been casting protection spells on them that they would have likely died during those incidents.

"This whole thing is bullshit," Eric muttered later that day when they were eating. He had gotten stuck the most with distracting Carter. While it would have been nice to stay around a dame, Carter wasn't like any dame Eric had met before. And he certainly had no interest in talking to her anymore. "Why is she even here?"

"What, don't like women of power?" Clint wondered, forgetting that he was currently the main one trying to avoid Carter and it seemed more likely that he would be than Eric. Bucky lowered his plate, watching. Dugan rolled his eyes as Eric huffed.

"Do you? You're the one avoidin' her like the plague," Eric snapped. Clint frowned. Yeah, he was avoiding her. But how should he explain to Dugan and Eric why. Bucky already knew. And Clint was damn sure that it would be a horrible idea to let anyone else know he came from the future. Was still bad enough that Steve and Bucky knew.

"I ain't got a problem with her being a chick. I got a problem that she reminds me of a girl I like at home. Not gonna be good to pop a stiffy in front of her," Clint lied. The others with him laughed loudly. And of course that was when his luck turned into the way it always went for him. The woman was walking by and heard their laughter. Noticing a soldier she hadn't yet met, Peggy turned and headed over.

"Shit man. Here she comes," Eric warned. Clint stiffened before dropping his bowl onto Bucky's lap and getting up. He needed to run, fast. Too bad Eric hadn't given him enough of a warning.

"Hello," Peggy called to them before Clint could get too far away. He froze, unwilling to turn around. "I heard you are the boys that have been together since getting shipped over here."

"We ain't the only ones ma'am," Bucky replied as if that made a difference. Peggy nodded and looked up to Clint who still had yet to turn around. Dugan frowned, looking between the woman and Clint. Eric even seemed a bit uncomfortable. Something about this meeting felt different than the times he spoke with her before. Bucky sighed, placing Clint's bowl down onto the ground beside him. "Is there anything we can help you with?"

"Not at the moment. Just, wanted to see how you all were doing. I've been speaking with many of the others around," Peggy mentioned, her eyes still having not left Clint's back. Clint forced himself not to move when a chill ran up his back. Dugan stood up, intent on blocking her view of the archer. Eric frowned, looking back and forth between Peggy and Clint.

"We're fine," Dugan answered. But somehow Peggy still was focused on Clint. With a sigh, Clint finally turned to look at her and gave her a small smile before nodding a hello to her. There was no way he'd be able to avoid this forever. Might as well get the whole thing over with. Peggy smiled at him and went to open her mouth but was stopped by something else.

"CARTER!" a voice screamed from somewhere. Peggy sighed.

"For now, enjoy your meal gentlemen. I hope to follow your exploits even more," she told them before spinning on her heel and walking off. Clint gave off a small groan, dropping back down onto his seat as if his legs had given out. Bucky placed a reassuring hand on the archer's shoulder.

"I didn't see no spiffy, but I sure as hell nearly pissed myself. Jeez. She part devil?" Eric wondered, having never had seen Carter as determined on meeting Clint as she had been any of the times before. And they had had a few close calls. The group chuckled but before they could talk about it any further, a call echoed through the camp.

"107th! FALL IN LINE!" Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Carey screamed into the camp. The quartet groaned but got up and headed to line up with the man. Clint glanced around. What used to be a regiment of nearly a thousand men, was now maybe down to four hundred souls or something. Clint sighed. He hadn't tried to think about how many men from the 107th had been killed before Azzano. But it was getting too close for comfort. "WE'RE MOVING OUT!"

"Where we goin'?" someone muttered softly behind Clint and Bucky. Clint shrugged his shoulders. They weren't in the know either.

"What about Danny?" Eric whispered as he snagged the man's stuff before they left their tent after the announcement. Clint looked to Bucky, waiting on orders. But Bucky was distracted, looking off at Peggy who seemed to be arguing with Colonel Phillips and Lt. Colonel Carey. Dugan sighed, knowing Bucky wasn't going to answer.

"I'll go get him," the man informed, drawing the Sergeant's attention back to his group. Bucky nodded his thanks. Just before the regiment took off, Dugan and Danny arrived. Four hours later, the troop headed into what seemed to be a vacant town. The place looked like it had been bombed. Buildings crumbling, debris everywhere. While many didn't seem to mind, Clint looked around, tense. It felt like he was being watched. But he couldn't see any sign of anyone watching them. The feeling could just be from the men behind him but Clint highly doubted it as he hadn't felt like this for the entire time he traveled with the regiment.

"I don't really like this," the archer mumbled. Bucky stiffened, looking to Clint with concern. Clint didn't focus on him. Just kept looking into each building and focusing on each roof that still remained. No one else really seemed to be looking around. But they had all gotten really tired lately with the constant movement. They were getting slightly lazy.

"Somethin' happen here?" Bucky whispered suddenly really concerned. Clint shrugged his shoulders. As he had told Bucky a few times, he didn't know everything about every battle. Otherwise he likely wouldn't have gotten as close as he did with any of the other members. Bucky dropped the subject but started looking around with Clint. That got Dugan, Danny and Eric looking as well. A few steps later, Clint noticed what was giving him the bad feeling. In one of the buildings that they were about to pass, the sun glinted off of something on the roof. Surprised, Clint looked around more closely. That was what had been bothering him. They were surrounded.

"TRAP!" he screamed as loud as he could. Instantly the 107th and other regiments that had come with them shifted their ranks to aim at every building. And two seconds later, the enemy agents appeared and started shooting down at them. Lots of people started falling but there was a loud 'RETREAT' that sounded through the gun fire and many of the men just took off without even attempting to willing protect people or wait for protection for themselves. Bucky, Clint and Dugan all fell into rank around each other and Clint noted Eric had split himself away from them. Danny was missing, having been jostled away a bit in the original scurry to get in defense positions. "ERIC!"

Eric turned to look at the archer and made it two steps toward him before a shot went through his gut. Clint let out a choked sound of surprise. What the hell was going on with his spells? Was he saying it wrong? The guys just kept dropping like flies. For a moment, the archer wanted to go grab Eric but Clint knew neither one of them would be safe. While Eric wouldn't be dead right now, there was no way he'd survive long enough to get help. And it was highly doubtful that even if they got help that Eric would make it out alive. In 2019, Eric's injury would have been a close call of survival. That same survival rate had to be diminished in 1943. With a weak little moan, Clint aimed his gun at Eric, waited a beat until Eric nodded his head and made the other man's death quick.

* * *

Clint headed off away from everyone the second the remaining troops arrived at the new camp that they had been designated to get to. Dugan noticed and went to follow, but Bucky had seen what Clint did and just held the man back with a shake of his head. The older man frowned but did back off. They still needed to look around and see if they could find Danny. Meanwhile, Clint had shifted around the camp until he found what must have been one of the higher points. Especially seeing as it could see of the make shift walls and towers that had been created in an effort to protect the camp. He hadn't wanted to shoot Izril. Shooting would just make all this worse. With a huff the archer sat down, his legs lifted up so his knees were chest height and his arms laid on top of them.

During S.H.I.E.L.D missions, he had to put down fellow agents before. It wasn't anything he hadn't gotten used to or anything but... Eric's death was hitting him much harder than anyone had before. The archer hung his head. He should have known better. After Mike's original injury, he should have backed away from the group. Aaron, Matt, Oscar and Cole and now Danny as well... Clint could only hope they were alive somewhere. Zach, Evans and Jason had their bodies returned home. Supposedly, Peter and Hugh also made it home alive (a letter from Peter having told them such). But after all Clint had seen so far... It was highly likely those missing or unheard from had been killed.

Clint ended up spending over an hour up on the hill. It was long enough that other soldiers began noticing that he was sitting there, head hung low. Clint tried to ignore the few 'whispering' words about what he had had to do. Everyone had had a moment or two like this before. Most did it in the privacy of a tent or something, but Clint was never 'most people.' The few who had 'sulked' in public at least had someone at their side. Someone they could talk to if it got really bad. Clint though, he needed the quiet. Not someone's sympathetic noise about how Eric wanted it and it was going to be okay, this was war.

Ten minutes later, Bucky started up the hill after what Clint had noticed was at least the tenth time someone other than Dugan spoke with him. Clint huffed but didn't move even as Bucky sat on the grass beside him. No way could he even attempt to push the man away. He had gotten too close to the Sergeant. Thankfully both here and in the future/his past. Bucky was at least decent enough to turn and look out over the camp.

"Doin' alright?" the Sergeant asked two minutes later. Clint sighed and shook his head.

"I've... I've done that type of thing before. More times than I'd like," Clint mumbled. Bucky turned to watch him. Clint never tended to talk about the future outside of his childhood and stories from the circus. He had been tight lipped about his own experiences as an adult, which none of the men had been bothered by. "I don't know why this is bothering me more."

"Maybe cause you've gotten too close?" Bucky suggested. Clint sighed. That could be it. While he had seen other S.H.I.E.L.D agents drop, he never actually knew them personally. Not like he did with the guys in their platoon.

"I don't know. I had been close with a few," the archer whispered before looking up to the sky. Bucky sighed, turning back out to the camp. "Eric had a girl back home. Pregnant. Did you know that?"

"No. Eric never told me that," Bucky muttered glancing back at the archer even more worried than before. Clint sighed looking over to the Sergeant. But Clint made sure he didn't analyze the look he was receiving from Bucky.

"Yeah. Janet or something... She was gonna give birth... Hell, she already gave birth to a little girl based on how far Eric said she was along," Clint continued. Bucky winced, thinking of his three little sisters back home. He had only gotten real close with Rebecca, the youngest. The other two had had some sort of issue with Bucky soon after their dad died while their mother was pregnant with Rebecca.

"For what it's worth. I'm sorry," Bucky informed. Clint huffed and turned to look up at the sky. That was the platitude that Clint wanted to avoid when he came up here. But somehow, hearing Bucky say it actually made Clint glad to have heard it. Still didn't bring Eric back or change what Clint had done but it was more like someone seriously understood and was forgiving him.

"I... I'm gonna have to get used to it soon. Only three of us left," the archer explained, closing his eyes when they began to sting. Bucky nodded knowing that Clint had seen his look. While Bucky hadn't officially said anything to him, Clint knew Danny was still missing. Hard not to notice when he watched Bucky and Dugan talk to nearly everyone at camp and become more and more upset.

"Gonna have to take some of the guys that lost their leaders," Bucky explained. Clint nodded. He figured that that would happen soon. Actually, he was surprised it hadn't already happened. His eyes flicked to the Captain's tent. Well, actually he should call it the Colonel's tent as Clint spotted Phillips entering it.

"God, how long we been out here?" the archer asked, frowning when he realized that Phillips had been put in charge of them not that long ago. The SSR were supposed to still be with Steve, making sure the serum worked. Right? It's what Coulson and the history books always said. Bucky huffed.

"Nearing three months, give or take." Clint sighed. While he hadn't been paying much attention to the actual passage, Clint knew Bucky was right. It should be only two more months before Azzano. Damn. Well... Then again, it might be a good thing to get some more people. More people that Clint would hopefully keep safer than the others. Or, it would be even more people he'd disappoint. "We're down to about four hundred men. A bunch of us not actually 107th. Most of those dead seemed to be higher officers oddly enough."

"Guess they should have promoted better people," the archer couldn't help but hiss. Bucky paused at that before snorting. The noise made Clint look to him before giving a soft sad smile.

"Yeah, maybe," the Sergeant replied. The duo sat together in silence for a few minutes. Both of them looking out over the camp. "Captain Henry wants to go back to that town and clear it out."

"They've likely moved on from there," Clint pointed out. Bucky nodded.

"Yeah. Doesn't mean that will stop him." Clint grunted. Captain Henry was quite nearly as stubborn as Steve. It was kinda ridiculous. "Think he's gonna get us all killed?"

"Buck," Clint warned, looking to the man. Bucky winced, having not realized what he had asked. It had been mostly a hypothetical but with Clint, no question like that could be.

"Sorry." Clint sighed. Bucky must have forgotten about him being from the future. Then again, it was sometimes for the best that Bucky didn't remember Clint was. That way Bucky wasn't looking to him for advice. Down below, Clint spotted some reddish brown hair. It was longer than any of the men could have. Clint growled a bit at the sight. While he had seen Phillips, Peggy hadn't been wandering around the camps lately. But now she was apparently back. Either that or she had respected Clint enough to stay away. Bucky looked down. "Her again?"

"She's gonna be around a lot more, sadly," Clint huffed, carefully watching Peggy. All he could do was mentally pray she didn't come anywhere near them. Bucky shook his head. It had been easy to avoid the woman when they marched and most times they had gotten into camp so late that the men simply ate, showered and slept.

"You may have to just deal with seeing her. Just don't get close with her like you did with me and Stevie," Bucky admitted, glancing at Clint quickly. Clint groaned, once again hanging his head. Bucky patted the archer, unable to say much else. "Sorry man."

"I know. Just... I don't wanna change history more than I've already likely changed it," the archer mumbled. Bucky sighed.

"I told ya before. I doubt anyone woulda send ya to your death," Bucky stated. Clint huffed. He wished he could believe that. But what if this was a separate timeline? What if... What if everything he knew could be wrong? Erskine had happened... Steve had been enlisted... Bucky was here... Dugan was here... But how long would that last? Could he have killed someone that would piss off another guy that then killed Bucky? Or Dugan? Or hell, Peggy? What if Steve didn't actually survive the serum in this timeline or whatever?

And it was in this moment that Peggy turned to look at the duo. Clint stiffened. There was no way this could be good. And indeed it wasn't as Peggy then turned herself toward them. Bucky stiffened now as well. Maybe they could get up and go somewhere else? Nah, she would be more than likely willingly to follow/chase them around. Best to just sit and let her come to them. And that's what she did. Once she was close enough, she stopped. "On lookout or something else?"

"Something else," Bucky answered. Peggy hummed, having heard a seen a decent amount of men hiding away in panic.

"Agent Peggy Carter," she finally was able introduce. Bucky nodded, getting to his feet. Clint didn't even attempt to move. He was gonna avoid speaking to her as much as possible. Let Bucky be the main point of contact that she had with the archer.

"Sergeant James Barnes, but call me Bucky," the man said having not had the pleasure of introducing himself. He looked to Clint briefly before focusing on Peggy. Clint wasn't going to introduce himself. So, Bucky took it upon himself. "Private Clint Barton."

"I heard a rumor that a Barton was being promoted to Corporal," Peggy informed. Clint looked up with a frown. "Yes, and Corporal Dugan was going to get upped to Sergeant."

"And there goes my team," Bucky snorted in disbelief. He hadn't wanted a whole new team. Dugan and Clint were great to work with. Clint even found himself frowning at the news. He didn't want to risk being separated from Bucky or Dugan. Peggy chuckled.

"With the way these troops are, doubt they'd separate you three," she soothed. Clint then got to his feet. That was intriguing. Why did the troops want the three of them to stay together? What was he missing?

"What do you mean, ma'am?" Clint wondered, making sure to be as respectful as possible. If she was ever gonna remember him, he wanted to make sure she remembered he could change from his arrogant, jackassery teenage years. Peggy snorted, a smile on her face.

"I mean, there is rumor that you three are some of the best out there. You all seem to notice what others miss," Peggy complimented. Clint's face turned red. Damn it. He wasn't trying to stand out. Maybe he should back down on all his warnings. Let Bucky do it all instead. Bucky chuckled, though it sounded slightly tense. Like Clint, the Sergeant knew that between the two of them they tended to call out more hidden enemies than anyone else.

"I doubt that, ma'am," he tried to argue. Peggy smiled.

"Nice, you're both so cute," she told them. That got Bucky to turn a bit red in the face. Clint nearly went pale. Cute? She thought he was cute? "I hope to continue to hear good things from you boys."

"Yes, ma'am," both of them replied. She turned and walked away, sending a wave over her shoulder as she did. Bucky waited till she was out of hearing range before looking back to Clint.

"Now I want to avoid her."

* * *

**This may be the longest chapter of the entire story. This story has been rewritten quite a few times. In doing such, there are a lot of chapters longer than typical. Actually, I was half tempted to redo all the chapters just because this was so long. But... I really couldn't make myself do it.**

**Darius had a very disappointing weekend. We all expected his grandparents to come and get him for the weekend like they typically always do. Now, hubby and I are fine if they want/need a weekend off. Gigi had a migraine that lasted all weekend so it was understandable that she wouldn't come. Problem was, we had no idea until bed time that night. We still have yet to hear from Granddad as to why he hadn't com. If it happens again, I don't know how Darius is going to handle it. Other than that, we got a new couch which is technically four separate chairs that look like they fit together nicely. When we mentioned to Darius that our blue couch was going to be taken away, he pitched a gigantic crying fit. Took us a while to realize that Darius didn't want to lose the blue couch cause it reminded him of the times he played on it with his brother. Once hubby and I heard that, we then agreed to not remove it. So, it's now crowding up our office.**


	4. Perseverance

CHAPTER 4 - Perseverance

After that it got a bit harder to avoid Peggy. She seemed to have taken a rather large interest in Bucky and Clint. If not Dugan as well. And like she said, Clint and Dugan got their promotions. The odder part was that because Dugan and Bucky 'couldn't' be separated, they simply got a larger team to work with in an effort to cover both Sergeants. This time around, Clint refused to get friendly with any of the new guys even if he casted so many protection spells on all of them it left him weak for an hour each morning. Something Bucky and Dugan disagreed with but covered it up as Clint not being a 'morning' person. In the end though, Clint did make sure to at least learn their first names... Tyler, Burley, Aiden, Alex, Josh, Dallas, Joey and Ross all worked with Bucky and Clint. Dugan ended up getting a Corporal Bill, Darius, Sam, Charlie, Pat, Jeremy, Chris and Dennis.

The last member that Dugan got surprised the fuck out of Clint. Gabe Jones. He hadn't realized that Gabe had been apart of the 107th. The archer thought that Bucky and Dugan met him after getting caught. For a while, Bucky and Dugan noticed that Clint avoided everyone but tended to still talk with Gabe. When Bucky finally asked, Clint gave a sign that Gabe was part of the group that Clint knew survived. Bucky tried not to talk about it much after that but it was clear to everyone else that Clint was only friendly with Bucky, Dugan and Gabe. Nor would there be any way to change it.

"LET'S GO!" Bucky shouted to the group a few weeks later, trying to rush his unit to move. Clint hung toward the back, making sure to protect the group. He wasn't going to make a mistake of losing someone again. This was going to be like a S.H.I.E.L.D mission. Bucky was his handler, Dugan was the team leader. Yeah, he could work with that. It'd work. He could separate emotion from all this. Something he really should have done in the beginning.

The twenty of them rushed through the woods, trying to escape the excessive gun fire that came from behind them. Clint kept turning around, shooting into the woods. Every one of his shots hit someone, but they had been outnumbered to begin with. This wasn't going well. Then Clint turned back to see Josh stumble and fall to his knees. Clint gritted his teeth, moving right to grab the kid from his armpit and heft him up. They had all learned that while Clint didn't talk to them, he was still a good man to have at their backs.

"Move!" Clint snapped at him. Josh nodded and hurried up. Wouldn't do to lose any of the team now. Bucky turned back briefly to see Clint. The other men spread out between them. Clint nodded his head to keep going. Bucky huffed and turned back. They needed to find a more defensible position. Then a bullet slammed into the archer. "AH!"

"CLINT!" Dugan roared, moving to check on him. Clint shook his head. They needed to keep moving. He could handle it. Nearby, Pat dropped. A gun shot through his head. Tyler vanished off to the left just before everyone heard a loud explosion. Clint cussed, recasting the protection spell again on the troops. Weakness made him nearly trip himself but when Dugan shifted to come over once again, Clint glared at the man.

"I'm fine! Go!" the archer cried. Dugan hesitated in his pace for a moment before hurrying off again. Bucky glanced back at Clint but Clint snarled his teeth and turned to shoot whoever had clipped him. Fuck them all. Josh vanished into the group ahead, making sure to better watch the ground in front of him. Glad that the kid was safe, Clint spun around, shooting at the men coming toward them as he ran backwards. When he nearly tripped, pulling at his new injury, Clint spun back around, just shifting enough to shoot over his shoulder. Six miles later (in a little under 30 minutes or so), Clint's energy began to wain. Gabe hung back, helping to make sure the archer kept up. "Get the fuck outta here!"

"Ain't gonna leave you, ya shit head," Gabe snipped as Ross and Dennis backed down to help. Darius stumbled before dropping. Jeremy turned to check on him and got a blast through his arm. His scream of pain drew Chris and Aiden to his side. It took maybe another minute or two before they finally joined up with a larger group from the 107th and a few other regiments. Clint sighed.

"Thank fuck." With the larger group surrounding them, the enemy backed off. Jeremy had already gotten dragged off to the field medics and Clint started looking around for Darius. He couldn't remember if anyone had gotten the guy up or if Darius himself had gotten up.

"Clint," Bucky called, moving back to check on the archer now that the enemy had stopped advancing and actually seemed to be retreating. Jumping slightly, Clint looked to Bucky before he shook his head. He was fine. Bucky got to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the archer argued before blinking rapidly. He glanced down at the wound on his left side. It wasn't all that big but with the running and twisting to shoot, he had done quite a bit of bleeding. Most of his side was covered in blood at this point. Bucky followed his gaze and frowned.

"Ya call that fine?" the Sergeant asked. Clint smirked and nodded, ignoring the fact that his head swam a bit at that. He had no idea if it was because of blood loss or maybe the repeated casting of the protection spell. Bucky huffed, his eyes narrowing. Clint could tell that the Sergeant was basically seeing him as if he was Steve. "Come on, lets go find a field medic and actually get a better opinion."

Clint huffed but was a bit too weak to fight off the other man. Bucky easily led him to one of the medics in the back of the group. Clint hardly paid attention to the man's name. Just leaned forward to let him get a look at the, what ended up being, graze. It had apparently bleed much more than one would think just because of Clint's extreme movements to get out of the battle alive The man frowned at it.

"Not too bad. Just gonna slap a bandage on it and pray to god you don't have to sprint through the woods again," the man stated. Clint nodded, looking to Bucky with a smug gaze. Bucky rolled his eyes. Once settled with the medic, Clint followed Bucky to the rest of their group sans shirt as someone had stolen it while he got checked over. Why they wanted a blood soaked shirt, Clint didn't know. He just knew his shirt was gone and he'd need to get a new one soon. Josh looked to Clint's injury and paled. Clint shook his head.

"Hey, it's fine. Not your fault," Clint soothed. Dugan huffed but said nothing. Slowly, Clint shifted to the ground. He really didn't want to jostle his wound any more than he had too. Running six miles in the woods was enough. A bunch of other guys came by and patted Clint on his non-injured side. Apparently it was awesome to run six miles through the woods with an injured side and still spend that whole time working at protecting his unit. Clint tried to ignore it all. He wasn't a hero. Wasn't super. Just a guy trying to live through a god damn fucking war with the people he had begun to call friends and brothers.

"Still, if I hadn't fallen-" Josh started.

"Dude, if you hadn't fallen I may have been more to the left and they woulda hit me in a more detrimental spot. We don't know what could have happened," Clint hissed. Josh winced but nodded. It was true. If Josh hadn't fallen it could have been much worse. They likely could have lost both Clint and Josh. Or even more of them as Clint had taken a lot more enemies out during their continued run.

"Doesn't matter now. It's in the past," Bucky told them all, a small wince when he looked to Clint. The archer sighed deeply. Yeah, in the past. Where he shouldn't fucking be. Maybe ten minutes later, Captain Henry sounded out the all clear to move on. Everyone got ready to advance. Clint groaned and got back up to his feet. "If you wanna sit-"

"I swear to god, Bucky. I will hurt you if you finish that," the archer growled. The rest of the unit chuckled. They had gotten rather used to the banter that Clint typically had with Bucky. But, even though Clint was on his feet and moving, Dugan refused to allow the archer to carry his own pack. And Bucky made sure to keep their unit more toward the middle of the pack so that they were more defended by others. Clint huffed at the plan but didn't try and move them forward or argue. A clear sign that he wasn't as fine as he had otherwise appeared to be. Not that any of them really knew that about him.

The whole regiment advanced, some shots from the front being fired but not as many as the unit had heard when running away. But Clint could feel something was up. While there were sounds of battle ahead, the amount of men that had been chasing everyone through the woods was nothing like the sounds of battle ahead of them. He turned to stare at the tree lines. Before anyone could as what he was doing, Clint spotted it. Quickly lifting his gun, he snapped out one shot. Everyone in the area gave a small jump but was pleased to see a body fall out of the tree.

"Nice," someone from another unit called. Clint huffed again but continued walking. The next enemy hidden in a tree was caught by Bucky. Now that people knew the enemy could be hidden above them, people started paying better attention. It was maybe an hour and a half before they passed the area Clint was shot in. And Clint knew it was his cause of the blood splatter. He gritted his teeth at the sight but turned to keep moving. Mentally he wondered once again what happened to Darius. He hadn't seen a body or anything. Thankfully Josh didn't notice the same thing. Bucky did and he traded a look with the archer. Clint mouthed 'Darius?' Sighing, Bucky shook his head no. Darius hadn't made it.

By the time the back of the pack finally hit the city line, the front half had already cleared the area. There was a loud cheer. Now, they could rest here, hidden in buildings for safety. It was nice. Clint leaned himself on a fallen bit of building and just watched as men wandered around, actually checking to make sure every enemy was either down or gone. Some even picked out their 'bedding' areas. Bucky headed over to stand by him.

"I'm sorry," the Sergeant muttered. Clint shook his head.

"That's why I've been in the back of the pack when we retreat. I can handle being shot and still move. Once got hit with a through and through in my right leg and still ran for maybe a good five miles and then walked for another twenty before it finally caught up to me," Clint stated. Bucky winced. That sounded painful and really bad. Clint huffed, mentally reviewing the memory. He had been captured by some random group that dissolved soon after. Not knowing if he was going to be saved, he broke himself out and worked his way through the area in an attempt to get to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D facility. What he hadn't know was Coulson had activated the archer's tracker. Once the pain and blood loss caught up to Clint, Coulson was already landing the Quinjet with medical waiting. "I can deal with it."

"But I shouldn't have let ya gotten anywhere near the chance," the Sergeant argued. Clint looked up to him.

"I'm not sure if you're aware here, but there is a war goin' on. People get hurt or killed in wars," Clint deadpanned. Bucky took a moment before he snorted. Clint smirked. It wasn't all that good of a joke but it did seem to soothe Bucky's guilt.

* * *

A few more days or so went by after that. Clint did his best to protect the unit again but Alex went down to a hidden mine. His remains scattered all over Clint, Dugan and Ross until they could clean up later. Chris lost his arm and hearing when a grenade was thrown out of sight from Bucky and Clint. Charlie got shot through the shoulder and ended up going home. And a new guy, Dallas, ended up dying when he got ahead of the unit and was stabbed with a bayonet from an enemy that was hidden in a trap and it was the same day Clint forgot to double up his protection spell that day.

Bucky also seemed a bit discouraged with the loss of life going around his unit. But people willingly volunteered to work with them. It wasn't like they had the best track record of keeping people safe. But Bucky, Dugan and Clint had ended up being some of the only leaders who had stayed together even with their change in rank. They also seemed to have lasted longer than most officers as they ended up killed or sent home.

"Can I join you guys?" a fresh face wondered, coming over to Bucky, Dugan, Gabe and Clint as they ate their 'dinner' around the open fire that Captain Henry had said was safe to light. Clint looked the guy over. The guy was a kid. Likely had been just on the cusp of being sent off. One of the youngest guy he had seen out here. It gave the archer a small chill before he looked back down to his food. He couldn't think about it anymore.

"To eat? Sure," Dugan allowed. The man blushed. Gabe snorted, digging into his meal a bit more. Bucky allowed his plate to basically drop onto his lap so he could better pay attention.

"No... I... I mean your unit," the man stated. Clint looked to the 'higher' ups. Bucky frowned at the archer before looking to Dugan. Dugan raised an eyebrow before shifting to face the guy better. He looked the man up and down. Then again. Then focused on the guy's face. Gabe grimaced after a bit, looking to Clint as he knew where this was gonna go. Clint rolled his eyes. This wasn't going to go well for the kid.

"Why?" Dugan asked.

"You... You guys keep your unit safe," the man praised. Clint derisively snorted.

"No better than any other unit out there," Clint pointed out. The man frowned. "Look, every unit is gonna have their casualties. You can't just unit jump in an effort to keep safe. We're all in danger once we get out there. Just watch your back and try to watch your unit's back."

"But..." the man began.

"No. Corporal Barton has a point. You can't just join us on the hope that you'll survive better with us than any other. We can't guarantee that and it'd be unfair for you to expect us too. I'm sorry, but I can't accept you to our unit," Bucky retorted. With that said, the man turned to look at Dugan who just kinda gave him a 'are you shitting me' type of look. The man sagged in defeat before nodding his head and wandering off. Clint sighed deeply, watching the guy.

"I get that people wanna survive this shit. But man, to expect one unit to keep ya safe," Dugan complained. Bucky nodded but Clint just went back to eating. He totally wasn't going to mention that when the Howling Commandos come into existence, none of them die under Steve's command. The rest of the infantry, maybe there was a bunch, but Steve's main unit had no deaths. Well... Outside of Bucky and then Steve himself. Course, apparently neither of them died. Or is it die? Fucking past and future tenses.

"And that's why we refuse people like that," Bucky stated. Dugan nodded. Clint sighed. This wasn't the first soldier they had turned down for similar reasons. Peggy had been right, the 107th and other regiments made the three of them (and now four with Gabe) out like gods. Clint couldn't tell if this was a good thing for him or not. He knew he was never mentioned as being part of the 107th but he was getting too popular for him to have not been mentioned at least once. Maybe... Maybe he should leave a message with someone? Let the others know he was at least okay... For now... Maybe get them to yell at Steve and Bucky, if this was the correct timeline...

"Gentlemen," a female voice called. Clint groaned, dropping his head down onto his chest. Dugan and Gabe snorted. Peggy had been coming to visit them a lot lately. Clint couldn't escape her. And while that normally wasn't an issue, Dugan was 'helpful' enough to tell the rest of their units all about Clint wanting to avoid her. When Clint failed to avoid her, the others highly enjoyed it. Slowly, he turned to look at her.

"Agent Carter," he greeted. She smiled at him even as Bucky, Dugan and Gabe softly greeted her as well. In the past few visits, Peggy had been spending more time watching the archer than the others. It was starting to get a bit creepy after the third time she checked on them.

"Heard rumor that you boys keep refusing new unit members," she said. Clint rolled his eyes. Lots a rumors going round. A few of the rumors had it that Bucky, Dugan and himself somehow made a pact with the Devil to last through the war if they killed a certain number of enemies in battle. Another had it that they were blessed by some higher power to watch over as many people as they could. The worst rumor, and the one Bucky enjoyed the most, was that somehow they had the ability to predict the future. Needless to say, Clint attempted to kick his ass anytime Bucky brought that rumor up around him.

"You listen too much to rumors, ma'am," the archer retorted. Bucky turned and gave Clint a slightly harsh gaze. Clint ignored him. He was too fucking tired to deal with Peggy's shit at the moment. Thankfully, Peggy just chuckled at him. Should have known that wouldn't work to scare her off.

"Rumors are interesting and many based on fact," Peggy pointed out. Clint snorted.

"You think the whole demon pact is real?" Gabe countered. Dugan guffawed as Bucky turned his scowl at the man. Clint even couldn't stop his snort of humor as he went back to eating. Peggy just smiled.

"I more enjoy the future predictions," Peggy replied. Clint suddenly choked on his food and this time Bucky let out a laugh before patting Clint's back in an attempt to help. Even Dugan was cracking a smile. Gabe rolled his eyes, having no idea what was going on with the three of them.

"Better than that rumor that we're blessed," Bucky huffed when he was certain Clint was fine. The archer nodded his thanks before placing his plate down beside him. He'd have to wait until Peggy walked away before he could go back to his food.

"There is the new one going around that one of you have magical powers," Peggy mentioned. Clint let out a distressed sound as Bucky and Dugan covered it with a choked sound that could have been construed as a laugh. Gabe and Peggy shifted their gazes over the trio.

"Magic powers?" Dugan finally was able to ask. Peggy nodded and Dugan forced himself to laugh at the 'absurdity' of that statement. Gabe raised an eyebrow. "You seriously believe that?"

"Can't put it out of the realm of possibilities," Peggy stated. As secretly as possible, Bucky placed a hand on Clint in an effort to calm the archer. Gabe frowned, having noticed the movement but decided not to comment on it just yet.

"There is no way magic is real," Gabe grumbled, turning his eyes back to Peggy. The woman smiled, unable to believe otherwise. It wasn't as insane as one might think. There were many stories of magic in the past. Why wouldn't it continue into this day and age? Shaking her head, Peggy decided to walk away.

"Well, it was nice seeing you boys again," she finished before turning back around and walking away. Dugan huffed.

"Beginning to think she's got a crush on you or somethin' Clint," Dugan stated, trying to throw off the statements she had mentioned. Clint blanched, unsure if that was better or worse than the rumors of magic. Either way, having Peggy potentially having a 'crush' on the archer, Clint prayed it wasn't true. No way in hell. It was bad enough she knew him, never mind actively searching him out. Bucky must have noticed Clint's look cause he shifted his seat over to be closer to him. Clint looked up, his eyes pained. Only Bucky knew how close some of those rumors where to the truth. And he was going to be one of the only ones who could help distract anyone else.

"Hey, it's fine," Bucky softly said, making sure Clint was focused on him. Dugan frowned. He could tell this wasn't just about the rumor of magic. Gabe looked between the trio with a confused expression.

"Feel like I'm missin' something here," Gabe muttered, unsure what else to say. Clint sighed, looking to Bucky quickly before deciding that he couldn't do it. He couldn't let Gabe know about him just yet. So... He had to go with his backup plan and pray that Bucky and Dugan would follow through.

"Carter... I can't get near her. I..." Clint tried explaining but just couldn't figure out the words. What was the best thing to say in this type of situation. Dugan already knew he didn't 'pop a stiffy.'

"You said you'd pop a stiffy, but you've seemed fine..." Dugan mumbled, looking between them. Bucky gave Dugan a face that said to just drop it while Clint just turned away from them. Well, Clint could only guess that Dugan was covering him. Maybe Dugan thought it was something about the magic. Well, knowing it didn't truly matter, Dugan huffed but rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. We'll just tell her to back off. Again."

"God, don't ya know nothin' 'bought women! You tell em no, they think yes!" Bucky hissed. At that Clint and Gabe just laughed, the group beginning to relax.

"We need to get those SSR dummies to stop leading us. What's the deal with them being in charge of our infantry? Surely there is another group they could lead," Clint grumbled. Bucky and Dugan laughed this time.

"Supposedly some of our men are part of their 'elite' group. Maybe that's why Carter hangs around you. She might be looking to recruit ya," Dugan suggested. Clint paled. Jesus, could that have been why Director Carter made a big deal about him coming into S.H.I.E.L.D when he was a teen? Cause she knew him? God, his life was so fucked up. "What? You don't wanna join those lazy louts?"

"Lazy louts? What you talkin' bout?" Bill wondered, coming to join the four.

"Those SSR stalkers," Bucky replied. Bill chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah they are lazy louts," the man repeated. Clint said nothing but got up and headed off. He needed time to think. This whole thing was getting too messed up. God, maybe he should just let himself get shot and end this whole charade. Lost in thought, he missed Bucky getting up with him and following.

"You okay?" Bucky's voice whispered once he thought they had gotten far enough away from the others. Clint huffed and shook his head as they stopped on the outskirts of the town. They kept their back to the town and new camp. "Thinking bout the future?"

"Kinda, yeah. If... If this is my timeline and my future... My whole damn life revolves around the choices I make here," Clint muttered. Bucky frowned before leaning against the building they had stopped by. Clint turned to look at him better.

"Guess ya know Carter in the future?"

"I know her before I know you and Steve," Clint admitted, figuring he might as well dish as much as he could get out. Wasn't like talking about this issue would fuck with Bucky's future. Bucky... Well, sadly he was likely to forget everything anyways. Fucking Hydra. "She... She is the future leader and founder of my job."

"Damn. That sucks," Bucky whistled. Clint huffed a laugh. Understatement of the year.

"Yeah, you have no idea," the archer mumbled. He looked to the sky with a deep sigh. "I just... I feel like I have to show her what I can grow up into being just so I know she recruits me. But I don't wanna lay it on too thick."

"Hey, ya already got recruited," Bucky tried soothing. Clint snorted.

"But, what if I only got that because of what she sees here?" Bucky winced. He hadn't thought of it that way. Clint groaned before rubbing his hands over his face. "This whole thing is just fucked up. I wanna go home."

"Don't we all," Bucky muttered under his breath. Clint grunted understanding what Bucky meant even if there was a quick mental competition as to who had it worse.

"Sorry." Bucky shook his head.

"Don't be. Trust me, I get it. You're further out of your element than most of us are. It's not fair to compare," Bucky informed. Clint groaned.

"Doesn't matter if it can't compare, Bucky. It still shouldn't... Forget it," Clint stumbled. Bucky sighed and pushed off from the wall to get closer to the archer.

"Hey. You'll figure this all out. Don't worry bout it," the Sergeant promised before nodding his head to the camp. "I'm gonna head back. Come back when you're ready."

"Thanks," Clint replied, watching Bucky go. Honestly, he had no idea how to figure all this out. He had no idea what this could be changing. If it was changing anything. God, why would anyone willingly send him back? Hell, why the fuck did it have to be him all the time? What god or whoever out there had it in for him? Groaning, Clint fell down to a crouch and held his head between his knees. He let out as silent a scream as he could. "Fuck!"

* * *

**A day late. Sorry. Yesterday I could hardly see straight. I'm wicked proud of this story so I wanted to make sure it was as perfect as I could make it before posting. So, I edit it numerous times. In fact, I think this story has been edited nearly twenty times. Either way, it's up now.**

**Darius is doing good. Having some minor issues yesterday and today but that is likely my problem over him. Anyways, other than that he's been fine. Can't think of much else to say. We're just good.**


	5. Can this Stop?

CHAPTER 5 - Can This Stop?

Two more battles went by after that. Three more camp switches and more dwindling members of their unit. Aiden got hit with a cannon ball that tore off his right leg and killed Sam. Thankfully he survived, well survived for now, and was sent home for better treatment. Bill ended up getting shot in the back that paralyzed him from the waist down and was sent home. Burley, Josh and Ross vanished in a retreat from a battle and never reappeared. Joey had to be 'put down' by Bucky himself when the poor guy got hit in his chest and it collapsed his lung. There was no coming back from that in the 40s. So it was down to Bucky, Dugan, Clint, Gabe and Dennis. Thankfully the new Captain, Captain Murray, didn't seem to want to force Bucky or Dugan to add to their ranks. It was doubtful that any of the original three could tolerate it at this point.

Peggy still had an odd fascination with Clint. It was getting to the point where even Dugan, Gabe and Bucky were getting nervous with it. Dennis was even beginning to get bothered that she was around a lot. No matter how much any of them tried, Peggy always found a way to speak to them at least once at every camp. It was getting tiresome.

"Corporal Barton," Peggy called out. Clint winced, glancing at Bucky for some type of help. Bucky just made a face before both of them turned to look at the woman as she came up toward them. "I heard what happened with Joey. I'm sorry."

Joey was still fresh in Clint's and Bucky's mind. He had been the latest death. Dugan had been with Dennis and Gabe a small distance away so they hadn't seen what happened. Clint nodded his head, not wanting to speak. Bucky also seemed a bit tense.

"He was a good guy," Bucky murmured. Peggy nodded. "Not sure I want to add any more people."

"The 107th is nearly two hundred seventy people at this point. Only around six hundred people of various regiments made it to this camp," Peggy pointed out, her voice sad and pained. Bucky and Clint blanched. So many people from the 107th had been killed or sent home since they arrived in this damn war. Damn. And Clint estimated at least a month left before Azzano. The whole thing sucked ass.

"Ma'am, please," Bucky mumbled. Neither of them really wanted to hear the damn numbers about how many they've lost. Peggy nodded, realizing she had made a mistake.

"I apologize. Just wanted to make sure you knew that no one was going to force you to increase your unit," Peggy replied. Bucky sighed.

"Doubt we'd be able to anyways. Don't wanna lead any more."

"I understand. Have a good night boys," she mentioned before turning and leaving. Bucky sighed, turning to look out of the camp.

"I hate this," the Sergeant muttered. Clint nodded. He was beginning to think he should cast a lot more protection spells. The few he had done lately weren't working at all and he had no idea why. He couldn't wait to return home so he could ask Loki why the fuck it hadn't been working. What was the point of the spell if people kept dying?

"Hey, we're doing okay," Clint whispered. Bucky huffed.

"Everyone keeps dying," he retorted. Clint sighed. Yeah, that was true. Well, some of the guys just went home or missing but they couldn't keep a lot of them safe. "I don't think I can take much more."

"Neither do I. But, we should get at least two or three more people. It can't just be the five of us," Clint admitted. Bucky groaned. "I'm not gonna force you but just think about it."

"I'll try."

* * *

Bucky ended up actually adding three more guys to their unit. Norman, Brent and Liam. Clint swore he would do everything to protect these three. Bucky wouldn't be able to handle another unit member passing away. Just for that reason, Clint casted a minimum of three protection spells on Dennis, Norman, Brent and Liam every morning and adding two more in battle. He was beginning to wish he asked Loki for some stronger spells. Maybe like a deflection spell or some shit like that. Anything that worked better than the spell he was currently casting and apparently only to have it fail nearly every time.

A week and a half before Halloween (some jackass decided to keep count of every god damn day), the unit found themselves pinned by the enemy.

"I'm running low on ammo!" Norman cried, taking a few more shots out to defend themselves better. Bucky checked his mag.

"I got four more shots," Bucky announced. Slowly, everyone announced their amount. Dugan had six, Clint had one, Dennis had three, Brent had seven, and Liam and Gabe had none. Clint cussed, glancing at the enemy during his last shot. If they ran out of ammo, they'd be dead. He looked at the group. No... He wasn't gonna let them die here. Bucky looked over to Clint and saw determination in the archer's eyes. His own eyes widened. "Barton!"

"Shut it," Clint muttered as he called upon Izril. Dugan cussed at the sight. None of the others had seen what Clint could do. But Clint didn't care anymore. He casted his spell seconds before standing. A moment later he pulled back and rapid fire shot half the guys advancing on them. The unit went silent as they watched Clint continue to attack anything that moved in front of them. Two minutes later and they heard the German word for 'retreat.' It was a bit of a relief. Sighing, Clint released his first spell and allowed the bow to drop back into it's pocket dimension.

"What the hell was that?" Gabe asked, staring oddly at Clint. The archer winced. And here was when he was going to lose all the friends he had made (outside of Bucky and Dugan). Bucky stood, looking down the field to see the arrows sticking out of people. He frowned and looked back to Clint.

"Get rid of those," he ordered. Clint nodded and sent out the dismissal spell. The arrows vanished making the others gasp. Brent's eyebrows rose in surprise. Clint shifted backwards, away from the group, ready to run. While the announcement of his magic had gone well before hand, he doubted that his luck would hold with the new group. Before he could run though, Dennis grabbed him by the arm to hold him still. Clint tensed.

"Dude, it's fine," Dennis said. Clint frowned, glancing at him. Dennis shrugged. "Grew up in an Indian reservation. Magic and shit don't phase me."

"What else can you do?" Brent questioned, curious and eager. Clint furrowed his brow, looking everyone over. None of them really seemed to care. In fact, they seemed impressed and curious.

"I... I've daily been casting protection spells..." Clint muttered.

"Did you do that with the others?" Gabe inquired. Clint frowned before looking to Bucky and Dugan.

"Just tell 'em man," Dugan encouraged. Clint sighed.

"Technically. I didn't do it as much as I have been lately. I think that's where I messed up and why guys kept gettin' hit," Clint whispered, tears slowly beginning to form in his eyes. With one look, Dugan and Bucky knew that the archer was blaming himself for all the death around them. Bucky shifted to Clint and just hugged him. Clint stilled, confused.

"It's okay. As you said before. This is war," the Sergeant mumbled. Clint laughed at that but it seemed to break whatever tension and reservations the rest of the group had over it all.

"From now on, when we're split from the rest. Use gotta your bow," Liam told him. Clint swallowed, glancing at Bucky. They had never done that before. It wasn't safe. But it could be exactly like this. If they ever got trapped again, he'd get them out. Slowly, the unit got up and headed down the cleared path. Clint's hand twitched, waiting to call upon Izril at the second they saw an enemy. Thankfully they didn't.

"HEY GUYS!" someone screamed out to them. The group turned to see another unit was coming up behind them. Bucky sighed deeply. Quickly the unit joined the larger set of troops. "How ya all doing?"

"Out of ammo," Bucky reported as if he hadn't a care in the world. Dugan gave him a slight nudge that thankfully only their unit saw. "Thank god we had enough to last till they retreated."

The guys around them twittered with laughter. Around them, people starting offering the small group some of their own ammo. They all graciously accepted it. Norman kept stealing glances at Clint but had silently taken more ammo than the others. Likely he didn't trust Clint to keep him safe. Clint could only think that it was a good decision.

"We're gonna stock up at the next camp. Word is our next strike is Azzano," someone else reported. Clint froze, unable to stop himself. He thought Azzano wasn't going to be for a few more weeks or more. How the hell had he been so wrong? Coulson used to drill that shit into his head like twenty four seven! Hell, he was friends with both Steve and Bucky! What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Clint, you okay?" Bucky asked when he noticed Clint had stilled. Gulping, Clint nodded. Bucky frowned before realizing what could be going on. He grabbed Clint's arm and dragged him away from the others. Dugan and Gabe looked over at the duo but when Gabe went to follow, Dugan held him back with a shake of his head. "What is going on?"

"I can't," Clint replied, strained. Bucky's frown deepened. Clint just shook his head, mentally begging that Bucky dropped it. After a moment, Bucky sighed.

"I'm guessing this must be an important event in history and you can't change it," Bucky mumbled. Clint nodded, tears slowly starting to form once again. Bucky sighed and pulled the archer into a hug. "No matter what happens, I will not blame you."

"I would," the archer whispered but accepted the hug none the less.

* * *

The walk to camp after that had everyone tense. They could tell something had happened between Bucky and Clint but they were too afraid to ask. Not that either of them would answer their questions. Knowing Clint as well as he had lately, Dugan saddled himself up near the archer. Gabe took Dugan's example and left himself near Clint as well. Dennis, Norman, Brent and Liam were just super tense, looking around like mad. Their arrival at camp was fine and as they collected weapons, Clint hardly felt comfortable in grabbing anything.

"What is it?" the Sergeant whispered when he noticed the archer not grabbing a weapon like normal. Clint tensed. He really wanted to say it... But he couldn't. He couldn't change history like this. In the end, Clint just shook his head and with a deep frown, Bucky accepted Clint's answer. The soldier knew that Clint wasn't going to say a damn thing. And considering all he knew so far, Bucky wasn't going to argue. No point changing something like this. Wouldn't want to have it that he did something different than Clint remembered and got either the archer killed or even himself. Bucky would not leave that on Clint's conscious.

The attack happened at night. 200 men from the 107th joined the attack along with so many others from other regiments. Bucky, Clint, Dugan and Gabe all kept themselves near each other. Dennis fell in battle real quick. No one truly saw how. Norman, Brent and Liam had banded together within Clint's eyesight but they had no chance of joining them. Another protection spell sent their way was all Clint could do. A blast of something landed near the four of them and Bucky quickly rushed them off into a hole a short distance away. They dropped.

"There's got to be at least five more other companies out there," Dugan shouted over the din. Clint grimaced. They had left camp with seven. No wonder Bucky never wanted to talk about Azzano. This was one of the worst battles he had been in so far. God, if it all got worse with Steve, Clint wasn't sure he'd be able to last.

"Radio B company. Tell them we need cover," Bucky ordered. Gabe shook his head even as he shifted the radio he carried. He hadn't originally been their radio man. But after their last one died, Gabe took up the mantel.

"That might be tough," Gabe alerted them. Clint glanced over and noticed the radio was blasted to shit. Gabe nodded his head at the archer and it took a second before Clint realized Gabe was thanking him for the protection spell. It was likely that whatever hit the radio would have hit Gabe somewhere important. Well... That was something. At least it seemed to be working on Gabe, even if the man survived the war.

"Bucky, behind you!" Dugan shouted making everyone look over in that direction. It was then that they became highly distracted with defending their position. Bucky turned around at an explosion and Clint crying out when a debris piece snapped him across the head. While it didn't feel like anything other than a graze/scratch, his head was dizzy and unsure. Almost like he had gotten a concussion without the extreme force needed to get one.

"Here they come!" the Sergeant announced as he jumped sides to better defend the dazed archer. Clint hardly noticed or if he did, he didn't comment on it.

"I hate these guys," Dugan grumbled before getting up and going at it again. Shaking it off, Clint also twisted to lay beside Bucky and shoot out at the advancing troops. They took down a bunch of men before Clint saw it. A blue streak lit up the area and hit two men who vanished in a puff of smoke. Clint froze as his mind snapped to the blue he had gotten under Loki's control. He didn't have a chance to shake it off before the blue blasts filled the area, vanishing more and more of the fighters around the area.

"Get down!" Clint screamed the second he was finally able to shake himself out of the fear he felt.

"What the hell was that?" Bucky growled, spinning and looking at the archer as if Clint knew. Clint grimaced. Fucking Hydra. Fucking Schmidt. With attention now being draw away and to the other side of the battlefield, the group got up out of their hole and looked around.

"That looks... New," Dugan needlessly pointed out. Then over the din they saw it. A gigantic tank was rolling itself out onto the battlefield. Bucky sighed and looked to Clint who just grimaced. This was the end of the battle. He looked to Bucky with a pained face and Bucky couldn't help but wince. Both of them hated that this had to have happened. Why couldn't Clint have changed it? Bucky looked back to the field just in time to see the tank level it's gun at them.

"DOWN!" Bucky ordered seconds before the thing fired at them. Everyone was able to duck but when he landed, Clint landed wrong and ended up hitting his head hard on a rock. He was out within seconds.

* * *

"Clint... Barton... Barton, wake up," a familiar voice snipped. Groaning, Clint began to come too. The voice belonged to Bucky, of course. He was looking down at him concerned. What happened? Clint knew that what was going on was not good for them but he couldn't remember why or even what. "Hey, man."

"Wha-?" Clint grunted. Bucky snorted and backed up a bit to show how they were locked up. Clint grimaced and slowly got up. Oh... That's what's wrong. They had been caught.

"Woah there, you should rest," someone called. Clint rolled his eyes. Why does everyone assume he's weak?

"I'm fine," he insisted. Bucky huffed and looked around. After a moment, he slipped closer to Clint.

"This supposed to be what you feared?" Bucky asked. Clint nodded, ignoring the dizziness that swept over him for a second. Bucky sighed. "Really wish this wasn't an important moment in history."

Clint tried his best not to laugh. Wouldn't look good considering what was going on. Looking about, at all the cages Clint tried spotting everyone or anyone he knew. Bucky, Dugan and him were lucky enough to go into one. The cage that they got put into already had a few men in it before. Clint quickly noted James Montgomery Falsworth was in the cage next to them. Gabe Jones ended up across the way. Jim Morita was also across the way. Clint couldn't see Jacques Dernier. He moved to the bars on the cage right after the enemy left.

"Hey, what groups we got here!?" Clint cried out at everyone. Best to know what they were dealing with here. Bucky moved and smacked Clint's arm. Clint ignored him.

"La Résistance!" someone cried. Clint assumed it was Dernier. Nice to know he was here and not added later by another captured group. Well, not nice but still. Five voices shouted in agreement. So maybe it wasn't Dernier that originally answered.

"Her Majesty's 3rd Parachute Brigade!" Falsworth added, drawing Clint's attention to him briefly. At least two other voices joined in agreement. There ended up being like seven or eight other infantries with various amounts of numbers. The 107th had apparently dropped from nearly two hundred men to nearly twenty. That stung. A lot. Clint could only hope the missing had gotten away and was waiting back at camp, safe and sound.

"Norman, Brent and Liam aren't here," Bucky softly informed. Clint cussed but otherwise tried to act un-phased. Only seven people, out of all the ones who traveled with them, had made it home. Or at least in the sense that they had been sent. Who knew what happened to those missing.

"Heard something bout they vanished in smoke," Dugan grumbled. Clint winced, only remembering blue. How could there not even a body to send home? It wasn't fair. Fucking Hydra. Sighing, Clint headed toward the front of the cage and looked it over. He could possibly get them all out of here. But... Carefully, he allowed his gaze to settle on Bucky. The Sergeant needed to get... Well, tortured. Clint couldn't get them out right now. But he'd damn well give it a try. Bucky must have sensed something cause he gripped Clint's shoulder tightly.

"Don't do anything stupid."

* * *

Day one of being captured, everyone spent a lot of time just talking, trying to guess what was going on. Every time Clint got close to the door, Bucky would 'gently' pull him away. And when Bucky wasn't doing it, Dugan was doing. They all weren't fed through the day which had some men more than a little 'hangry.' No one was giving any of those guys shit cause they all knew it was going to happen to them sooner or later as well.

Night one, some loud cries woke Bucky, Clint and Dugan up, along with a few others from nearby cages. Some guards had gone into one of the cages cage and grabbed one of the men out from it. That man was screaming his head off, bucking and fighting to get free. He was pulled down the hall and through a set of double doors. Clint got to his feet and moved toward the door, trying to see through the doors to find out where the guy was going. But he couldn't see anything. The guy never returned.

Day two, Clint shifted to check out the locks on the cages yet again. He was tempted to say 'screw Bucky' and try to break out but when he went to reach his arm through the bars, one of the men from a different cage hissed that he should stop. Nervous himself, Clint backed off. That guy had been here longer than the archer and Clint figured he knew at least one other person that had tried to escape and failed. Not that Clint planned on failing.

A few minutes later, another guy was taken through the doors. An hour after that, food was finally delivered and a third guy was removed. Clint growled as he watched the guards stalk past. From then on, about every hour or so, the guards would come back into the room to grab at least one man from one of the various cages. When the guards opened Bucky, Dugan and Clint's cage, the two Sergeants held Clint back, making sure he didn't make things worse.

It continued this way for a few days. The more men that were taken, the more Clint attempted to try and break out. But, he always backed down when someone gave him crap about even attempting. As the days went though, it was much harder to convince the archer to stop.

Day five of being captured, Clint was sick of watching guys getting taken out of the cells and never returning. Much to Bucky's and Dugan's chagrin, Clint did what he did best. He tried to unlock the cage he was in. Thankfully, this time, no one seemed to mind that he had chosen to finally ignore the warnings the others had given him about trying to break out. Course, some of the POWs had still tried to convince him to not even try at this point, just like on day one. But Clint wasn't going to listen anymore. It was bullshit to keep waiting. Men were dying and Clint knew he could do something about it.

Ignoring them, Clint got nearly two seconds away from unlocking the door when a guard came down the hall. Clint had to back off, losing his place with a soft cuss. Bucky patted his back (giving in to Clint being stupid), knowing the archer had tried. Once the guard passed, Clint was at it again. This time he was a bit faster, but apparently the guard from before hadn't gone too far away. There was no warning before the guard was on top of the archer.

"AH!" Clint cried when the guard slammed a baton against the archer's hand. Clint backed away, cradling it. Bucky and Dugan rushed forward to protect the archer. Clint snarled at the guard. "Go fuck yourself!"

"Amerikanisch Arschloch," the guard growled. Clint snarled. Fuck this guy for calling him an American asshole.

"Arschloch. Sie sollten uns einfach gehen lassen," the archer retorted as if the guard would actually listen and let them all go. The guard's eyebrows raised before snarling and moving to attack Clint again. The whole cage pushed Clint away from the man in defense. No one wanted the idiot to get taken. But Clint fought them a bit to stay up front. He wasn't gonna back down. (Asshole, you should just let us go)

"Du denkst, du bist so schlau," the guard grumbled. Clint had to force himself to not charge at the guy. His smart mouth was certainly going to get him killed one day. Just, Clint wouldn't let it be today. (Think you're so smart)

"Sicherlich schlauer als sie, Miststück," Clint snapped, for some reason intent on pissing the guard off by insulting his intelligence as well. The guard jerked back before leaning in, right against the cage bars. Clint tightened his hand into a fist but Bucky quickly snatched Clint's arm into his own hand to still the archer. Giving the Sergeant a quick angered glare, Clint tried to cool down his tempter a bit. "Sie werden genauso gut verlieren könnte jetzt verlassen." (Smarter than you, bastard) (You will lose, might as well leave now)

"Denken Sie, ich bin auf der Gewinnerseite Sie dumme Amerikaner," the guard responded. Clint snorted. (Think I'm on the winning side, you stupid American)

"Denk alles, was du willst, weiß ich," Clint harshly laughed before lunging forward before anyone could stop him and spitting in the guards face. The guard's eyes went wide before he smacked the baton against the bars, nowhere near Clint. (Think all you want, I know)

"Sie werden bereuen dass oder. Sie könnten als nächstes genommen werden," the guard hissed. He spun on his heel and stormed off. Clint nearly paled at that. Fuck, he was really digging himself into a deep hole here. The whole room was silent for a little while just to make sure the guard was gone. (You will regret that. You might get taken next)

"You can speak German?" someone from a different cage asked. Clint huffed and shifted deeper into his cage to lean against the wall. Bucky and Dugan followed him, deep frowns on their faces. Clint said nothing, just looked away.

"Stupid to get them all upset like that man," another called. After that the conversation drifted into what Clint had actually said. Only four other men could speak German and they easily translated it for everyone else. The whole room had no idea how to respond to Clint's banter with the guard.

It wasn't until the next guy was taken before Clint headed straight back to trying to unlock the cage. This time everyone acted as guard for the archer. And so it only took a minute to unlock the door. He snuck out but told everyone else in his cage to stay put. The archer needed to unlock the other cages before they could all escape. Thankfully they understood. Clint was able to unlock two more of the six cages before a guard came back. An unknown British man alerted Clint to the guard. Clint just barely snuck back into his cage in time. The guard looked at everyone, seemingly sensing that something was going on.

"Was ist los?" the guard asked wanting to know what he couldn't see. No one spoke. He repeated himself, moving to hit one of the cage doors. Sadly, it was one of the ones Clint unlocked and the door creaked open. "Ich brauche Hilfe!" (What is going on) (I need help)

Clint busted out of his cage and attacked the guard before any more could appear. All the other POWs hesitated just long enough for seven more guards to rush into the room and begin attacking the archer. Bucky and Dugan rushed out to help. Soon there was a large collection of guys fighting it out. Ten men actually used the chaos to run for it. An alarm went off in the base and more and more Germans came out of the woodwork and began dealing with the mess. It didn't take much longer before the Germans took control of everyone and got most back in their cages. Bucky and Clint were the only ones held out. A man walked into the room. Clint almost paled when he realized it was Arnim Zola.

"Bring zem to my lab," Zola demanded, a slightly pleased smile on his face. The whole room burst into cries of outrage but no matter how hard Bucky and Clint fought, the duo were quickly dragged out of the room. Zola's 'lab' was further away from the cells than Clint expected but that didn't stop him from fighting. In fact, the further they went the harder Clint fought. Bucky took his cue and attempted to do so as well. They both failed, especially when some batons got jabbed into both of their guts to make them still enough to be dragged down the hall easier. It worked. Then they got separated.

"CLINT!" Bucky roared the second he realized Clint was getting pulled into a different direction than him.

"BUCK!" Clint screamed back. Both men fought again but they could do nothing about the large amount of guards that shoved them in each room. Clint got one last look of Bucky's horrified face before someone hit him hard in the head and he blacked out.

* * *

**Coronavirus... Damn... Not sure if schools, daycares and hubby's work being closed will be good for me or not... For now. I'm anxious as all heck.**

**Darius refused to go to daycare this week on the few days it was open. Didn't want to force him but it was aggravating. Yesterday hubby pulled an all day shift so that he could do inventory in his store. Apparently he will also be doing three more inventories even those his store is officially closed till the end of the month. Currently, Darius is watching his tablet so that I could work on this. He's doing fine. Having fun being home. Making a gigantic mess. Hubby supposedly as plans to use this 'down time' to clean up and finish unpacking the house. I'd like that. Would be nice to finally have this place freaking clean. Would also help to make a list of things we need to buy for either storage or for viewing purposes. We'll see how things go.**


	6. Savior

CHAPTER 6 - Savior

When Clint woke again, he was already strapped down on a table. He jerked around, feeling right away that the cuffs were weak compared to what he typically was held down with. It would be easy to escape. But before he could even begin trying to slip out, a loud scream from a room nearby echoed into Clint's room, making him still. It was a familiar cry.

"Bucky," Clint huffed before working at his cuffs. He was gonna break out and get the soldier. Yeah, he knew Steve was gonna come and save them but still... He didn't want to leave people like this for too long anymore. Already he regretted allowing so many men to be taken before. And besides, he knew Steve came at some point in November... But was it the beginning or the end? If it was the end... God help them all.

"Hold him down!" a voice cried seconds before hands grabbed at Clint and stilled him against the table. Clint growled, spitting curses at everyone until a needle was injected in his arm. Frowning, he glanced over to the spot and saw Zola happily standing there. Furrowing his brow now, Clint twitched his eyes to the area Zola had inserted the needle. There didn't seem to be any lasting damage. What had Zola done? "Enjoy."

"Wha-" Clint started before he felt it. His blood felt like it was on fire. Unable to help himself, the archer roared in pain. What the fuck was happening? Distantly, Clint could hear Zola laughing beside him. Jesus, was Zola experimenting on him? Wait, had he been experimenting on everyone that had been taken? Then, Clint's mind blanketed itself in a swirl of pain. It took a while before Clint began to feel anything close to normal after that injection. Distantly, Clint knew he should start trying to get out but he couldn't figure out why. Nearly a minute later, the archer remembered why. Just before he started fighting the cuffs again, Zola returned and with a smile held up a new needle. "Fuck you."

"Ah, but you are such a good rat," Zola cooed before injecting the thing in him again. Clint tensed, waiting for the pain. While waiting, Zola looked the archer over. He paused at the scarring behind Clint's ears. "I wonder what caused this."

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Clint snidely hissed. It took a bit longer than last time for the serum to actually work but when it did, the pain was much worse. His screams were drowned out by his body's attempt at rejecting whatever had been given to him. Coming down was harder than it had before. It still hurt. All his muscles felt stretched and tense. Almost like he had spent three days in an Avengers battle without rest. By the time everything cooled down and Clint could act, Zola had already returned and added a new serum. This one left Clint dizzy and distracted.

"Wha-" the archer began to moan, trying his best to focus on the scientist. Why was this one so different? What the hell was this guy doing to him? Was Bucky getting the same treatment? Hell, had everyone gotten the same treatment?

"Fascinating. Mark that serum five nine seven has delirium properties," Zola reported. Clint grimaced. Fuck him. He was screwed. "I shall go check on our other friend."

"Buck-" Clint grunted out. Zola paused before moving back to Clint, patting the archer's face with an evil smile on his face. Clint blinked rapidly as he slowly pulled his head away from the scientist's hand.

"Don't worry. He is getting the same treatment as yourself. Fascinating to watch as it tears you both apart," the scientist informed. Clint tightly closed his eyes, praying he had the coordination to spit into Zola's face. But by the time Clint figured he was ready, Zola was already gone. He had missed his chance.

After that Clint began to lose track of time. Once he would start to feel something anywhere close to normal, Zola was back with some sort of injection. Most left his blood feeling like lava. Some left him like ice. Even more made him delirious and dizzy. Zola kept laughing and marking notes from the reactions he was getting. Clint once tried to ask about Bucky but his tongue refused to work. It was around then that Clint gave in and simply floated through the sensations of the injections. After that, it didn't seem to take all that long after that before there seemed to be a bunch of explosions. Clint blearily tried his best to focus, looking around the room. Something was happening. Something important.

"What happened to you?" a voice echoed, but Clint hardly focused on it.

"I joined the army," came a familiar voice. Clint frowned before remembering the voice. It was his savior! Well, Bucky's savior really. God, if what he remembered was right, Schmidt blew the fucking place up. If he didn't get saved now, he'd die strapped to a fucking table!

"Steve!" he croaked out. There was a pause that Clint could hardly hear. Was he loud enough? Had anyone heard? "Steve!"

"Clint?" came Steve's confused voice. Clint hardly was able to smile. He had been heard. They'd be coming for him.

"Here," Bucky's voice added. A moment later, Steve was standing over Clint and undoing the cuffs that held him down. Once free, Clint moved to sit up, catching a quick look of Bucky leaning against the door frame. Steve gripped his shoulder when the archer suddenly found himself feeling as if the room was spinning.

"You okay?" Steve wondered, helping Clint get to his feet. Clint nodded, intent on walking himself. He took a few steps on his own before nearly falling down. Steve caught him before he went down all the way. Apparently he wasn't as okay as he thought. But he'd trudge on. "Come on."

"I can walk," Clint argued as Steve helped Clint move to where Bucky waited. Having been rescued first, Bucky was more settled than Clint and so he just pushed off the wall and started walking/jogging beside Steve. Growling, Clint only took help for maybe another half minute before he started on his own. As they headed down the hall, Bucky and Steve kept talking.

"Is it permanent?" Bucky wondered.

"So far," Steve replied. Clint huffed, silently thankful that Steve hadn't heard him, even with his newly enhanced hearing. It was permanent but he wasn't gonna say shit and he could only pray neither of them asked. Clint focused on what was happening around them. The other POWs must have gotten into the yard already and were causing a huge issue as all he could hear was gun fire and explosions. Clint tried to hide his smirk. He hoped they all killed a whole bunch of these Hydra assholes. Following after Steve and Bucky, Clint didn't think anything about it until they hit a metal bridge and they all stopped. Across the way was Zola and who Clint could only assume was Johann Schmidt.

"Captain America! How exciting! I'm a great fan of your films!" Schmidt's voice cried from the other side. Bucky and Clint stilled at the barrier, watching even as Steve and Schmidt moved. Slowly, the duo began walking to the cross way that separated all of them and met in the middle. "So, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement but still... Impressive."

Clint nearly cheered when Steve pulled a right hook on Schmidt. Beside him Bucky let out a soft chuckle that hardly covered Schmidt's sound of pain. Steve shook his head slightly after that. "You've got no idea."

"Haven't I?" Schmidt responded, pulling back for his own punch. Steve saw it coming and ducked behind his shield. A shield that Clint knew was not all that likely to hold up against the hit. But he did notice something. Underneath Schmidt's right eye there was a bit of red. And not red like the red from a hit to his face... Then Clint remembered. Schmidt's other name was Red Skull. He never thought it would be that literal.

After the hit, Steve pulled out his gun but Schmidt was faster, he punched the Captain and Steve fell backwards. Bucky and Clint lunged forward as if they could help but neither got all that far before their exhausted bodies protested the movement. Steve's gun clattered off the walk way as Schmidt advanced and like in 2012, Steve recovered quickly and kicked out both his legs into Schmidt's chest. On the other side of the cross way, Zola pulled a switch that had Clint frowning. What was that going to do? A second later, Clint knew. It was separating the two men. Well, that worked. Both men got to their feet and looked down at the wide expanse between them. Steve growled lightly before focusing on Schmidt as the other man gave him a pleased look.

"No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see, I was his greatest success!" Schmidt announced loudly as Bucky began to move his hands to not get knocked over by the moving metal beside him. Clint stood at Bucky's other side, just watching in confusion. Just as Steve stopped beside them Schmidt reached up to his face. Clint blanched, knowing what was going to happen next. Schmidt removed his face mask and revealed his face as pretty much what his second name said. A goddamn red skull. Steve did a slight gasp of surprise as Clint tried hard not to throw up. If he ever saw Steve again, he'd ask why the hell he hadn't said how fucking nasty that looked. Once Schmidt stopped moving, Clint heard Bucky.

"You don't have one of those, do you?" the Sergeant asked. Clint tried hard not to laugh. But he knew, if he hadn't met Steve in the future, he'd have likely asked the same damn thing. Schmidt had taken Erskine's formula. And now Steve had as well. It could have happen.

"You are deluded Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind," Schmidt announced. Clint huffed, watching as Schmidt then began getting off of his ramp and walked toward Zola. "Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!"

"Then how come you're running?" Steve shouted back. Clint did snort at that. Typical Steve. Bucky glanced over to the archer but said nothing. Schmidt said nothing in response. Just got into, what Clint guessed after was an elevator with Zola at his side. Before any of the trio could comment after that, there was another explosion down below that had the whole walkway shaking. Clint looked down, staring at the destruction in aw. Is this what villains saw when they were still in a building he or Nat blew up? God, it was rather horrifying. Not that it was going to stop him from doing it in the future, but still. Interesting to know and be on the other side. "Come on, lets go, up!"

Clint turned quickly to see Steve was leading Bucky up another set of steps. With a growl, he followed, looking above to see what Steve saw. A rafter. Huh... He should have fucking noticed that himself. Clint trailed after Steve and Bucky like a little lost lamb until they got to the top and looked across. Once they all got to the top, Clint noted more explosions down below. This was gonna suck.

"Let's go. One at a time," Steve encouraged. Clint glanced down, remembering Steve mentioning that Bucky was sent over first and then the rafter collapsed. He frowned. Would it collapse if he crossed first? In the end it didn't seem to matter as Steve encouraged Bucky to get over the railing and head across the rafter. Clint and Steve backed away, watching. Bucky made slow progress but Clint could tell the rafter was starting to fail. Okay, so a change in history was not going to be something easy for Clint. Once that thing fell, how would he get across?

A particular explosion below had the rafter shift downwards. Clint gritted his teeth and judged the distance to the other walkway. Too far for him to jump. A walk in the park for Steve. At the halfway mark another explosion weakened the rafter even more and Bucky ran for it, leaping slightly off the rafter to catch the other side. Clint watched as the rafter fell, Steve and him being forced to back up even more as flames shot up a bit higher. Across the way, Bucky pulled himself up over the railing and then looked down and then over to them.

"There's gotta be a rope or something!" Bucky cried. Clint grimaced, looking around at the ceiling. And then there, Clint noted a part of the ceiling in the middle that was leaning down. It was some type of steel support that had been knocked a bit loose. Judging the distance, Clint knew he could make it if he jumped off the railing at a dead run. A run that Clint wasn't entirely sure he could make at the moment.

"Just go! Get outta here!" Steve called back. Clint looked to him slightly surprised before realizing, this was Bucky. Of course he'd want the guy to get out of there. Clint gritted his teeth, not willing to comment. If anything, Clint was going to be the only one who likely wasn't going to come out of this alive.

"No! Not without you!" Bucky determinedly shouted. Clint winced as Steve looked around. In the explosion and drop of the rafter, some of the railing had bent itself outward. With a grunt, Steve pushed one of the pieces aside to get more room. When he was done, Clint leaned forward to test it's strength. It was good. A little bouncy but that could work in his favor. Steve backed up. Clint followed his lead, mentally planning his own path, ignoring the Captain. From across the way, Bucky looked horrified.

After a second's hesitation, Steve ran forward and leaped at the edge. Clint was only a moment behind, catching the railing and jumping up higher than Steve. To both of their luck (ironically enough) another explosion went off and pushed them a bit further. Clint's hand caught the ceiling piece just as Steve landed on the other side. With help from Bucky, Steve made it up over the railing. Both of them spun and looked for Clint, to see if the archer was still within sight. It took the other sniper to look up before Bucky spotted him.

"CLINT!" the Sergeant roared. Clint ignored him, using his body momentum to swing back and forth, judging how best to do this next move. Without another explosion, Clint would be cutting it close. With a grit of his teeth again, Clint pulled back hard and then came forward, releasing a second too late and pulling himself into a flip that he hadn't planned for.

Thankfully his flips tended to get him further than a regular jump, so he curled himself into a bit of a ball to spin slightly faster. Once he was over the main part of it, he straightened his body and reached out. After a moment more of flight, Clint realized, he wasn't going to make it. His judgement had been wrong. Then Steve lurched forward, giving him that extra edge. Clint grasped the Captain's hand and when he crashed against the railing, both of them let out a loud cry as their arms and shoulders pulled at the sudden weight change. Distantly, Clint noted that his shoulder did not dislocate itself as it had done many times in the past from the same type of move. A moment after that, Clint was pulled up with help from Bucky as well as Steve.

"Let's get out of here," Steve growled as soon as he knew the archer was safe. Clint nodded and the three took off for the door. They were all pleasantly surprised it was a door that led outside. As soon as they burst through the door, someone turned to aim a gun at them. It was one of the other POWs that had been in cage near Bucky and Clint. The guy thankfully didn't shoot. Clint glanced around. They were getting close to getting boxed in.

"Give me a gun!" Clint demanded as a few more guys came over to them. Someone tossed him a gun with a blue tinge to it. Clint grimaced at the sight but looked up, intent on not letting the color get to him. These guys needed Clint to be on top of his game. Beside him, Bucky was also tossed one. Anyone with a fucking Hydra pin was going down. A shot later and Clint was partly pleased to see the body vanish in a puff of smoke. He had thought that what happened at Azzano was just a trick of the light or something. Maybe some delusional gas. Or that the guns only worked with some type of special grip. Something. But, nope. It'd work fine.

"What the heck?" Steve muttered beside him, looking down at the two guns with a surprised face. While Clint and Bucky had both seen the reaction from this type of gun before, Steve had not. Bucky smirked at his friend even as Clint huffed before shooting at more men, Bucky quickly following after. Steve used his shield to protect Bucky and Clint as much as possible. Considering the damn thing was little more than a glorified peace of 'tin,' it held up well against normal gun shots and certainly against the blue streaks that flew through the air. The group moved quickly and just barely got out of range when the damn building went up sky high.

"Woah..." someone called, looking at the sight. Slowly, the attacking Hydra force dwindled to nothing. Once it seemed fully done, Steve glanced back quickly before focusing on the men he had saved.

"Everyone okay?" the Captain asked. Cautiously, the men trickled together. Clint was actually surprised at how many people there was. Guess they had found more cages on the way out, cause there was no way this many men had been in the cages that had been around him. Dugan popped his head out of a tank, grinning like a fool.

"Sarg!" the man cried out at the sight of Bucky. Bucky waved a hand to him. Clint huffed.

"Feeling left out here man," the archer grumbled. That sent a few people from the 107th and some of the nearby cages laughing. Everyone knew of the trio's kinship. With a grunt, he turned to Steve. "Know the way back?"

"Yeah, yeah I do," Steve replied. He headed to the front of the pack as a few guys began collecting whatever weapons that hadn't been destroyed in the explosion and fight. Clint was stunned to see another tank and pointed it out to some men. Gleefully, they rushed to it.

The march through the woods was rather longer than Clint expected it to be. Racking his brain, Clint tried to remember how long it would be till they reached camp. Then he remembered what Coulson had once said to him. While everyone thought Bucky and the others had been held in Azzano, they had actually been transported. Thirty miles. They had to walk thirty miles or so back to camp. With a soft groan that no one heard, Clint walked beside Bucky, who refused to leave Steve's side. The duo had begun arguing about Steve being in the war nearly as soon as they walked out of the gates.

"Bucky, it was my only chance," Steve argued. Bucky growled.

"Only chance at what? Coming to get yourself killed? You should have fucking stayed home!"

"Buck, I'm fine. I won't get hurt," Steve promised. Bucky gave out a harsh laugh.

"You can't fucking promise that shit, Stevie. This is war!" Bucky retorted. Clint winced. He had to agree with Bucky. There was no way Steve could avoid every type of injury. Maybe it wouldn't be anything drastic, but Bucky would likely take even a paper cut as an 'I told you so' moment.

"Buck, I needed to come. Needed to fight," Steve whined. Bucky rolled his eyes.

"I told you not to do anything stupid!" the Sergeant snapped. Clint gave a dark sigh. His head was beginning to hurt. "Stevie, you were safe."

"I didn't want to be safe. I wanted to come here and help fight," Steve finally snapped. Clint growled now. His head was seriously killing him, he was tired, and he just wanted to go home. See his family. Have a damn cook out with his friends. Fuck the war. Fuck everything!

"Bucky, shut up!" he nearly shouted. A group of men, Steve and Bucky included, looked to Clint in surprise. "If he hadn't of done what he did, we'd still all be stuck in that fucking hell hole! I, for one, am fucking thankful his damn stupid ass came here."

"Thank you," Steve graciously replied pointedly ignoring the vulgar language. Bucky huffed and lightly punched Clint's arm with a small smile. Clint sighed deeply. Least Bucky wasn't that mad. The archer looked up to Steve and noted that the Captain was smiling as well.

"You're both fuckin' punks," the Sergeant reported, all the anger from before having vanished. They laughed as Steve moved closer and wrapped an arm around Bucky's shoulders before using his other arm to wrap around Clint's shoulder. It felt good to be part of this. He missed something familiar like Steve. Even if it wasn't fully the Steve he remembered.

* * *

"HEY! LET'S HEAR IT FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA!" Bucky shouted when they arrived at camp and they realized Steve wasn't going to get in trouble for coming after all of them. Clint hooted in cheer even as he clapped, a huge smile on his face. This... This was nice to see. And this was why so many people admired Steve. It was worth every second of knowing this guy. The cheering went on for a good long while before it was cut off by some random man. Clint patted Steve's arm, pleased with how things turned out. Steve looked to him and smiled.

"Who else needs a damn drink!" Dugan called not long after that. With a laugh, Clint raised his hand along with a bunch of other guys. Steve shook his head at them but moved to go speak with Colonel Phillips. Clint looked to Bucky who just simply nodded. After everything they went through, a drink was seriously needed. Steve could handle himself.

Well, the drinks didn't come that night. It took nearly a week to figure out what to do with the two hundred and fifty POWs that Steve had saved, especially the non American ones. Most wanted to go back home, claiming to have fought the good fight and were now done. Amazingly enough, they got permission. Others, they just wanted a break. And again, it was given to them. Two days after getting permission themselves, Clint, Bucky and the future Howling Commandos arrived in London and started partying. Or well, trying to get drunk enough to completely forget what had happened in those cages.

The Whip & Fiddle pub tended to be packed nearly every night with the members of different companies and platoons. Clint made sure to stay with Bucky as the other men all mingled. The future Howling Commandos flocked to each other as if they had already been told they'd be part of a unit under Captain America. On this night, they sat together at a table, joking and drinking all together. The archer couldn't help but smile at them. Bucky turned to watch them as well. After a moment, the Sergeant chuckled.

"They gonna be just as stupid as us, ain't they?" Bucky wondered. Clint smirked, unwilling to mention anything. Bucky snorted. "You suck at keeping secrets."

"Fuck you," Clint grumbled, his smirk falling away. He hung his head. Bucky laughed and patted the archer on the shoulder. "Damn it... I'm so much better than this."

"I've gotten used to watching ya," Bucky informed. Clint still groaned, turning to take a long drink from his beer. He grimaced at the taste. Since arriving here, Clint had been trying different beers to find one that could seem somewhat similar to the taste he got in the future. And clearly, so far, none of them had. "Guess future beer tastes better?"

"Not really better... Just different," Clint mumbled. Bucky nodded. MREs and shit hadn't really changed and Clint hadn't had much of the other things that Steve always complained tasted different, until now. Behind them, Steve came into the club. Clint nodded his head to the man and with a small smile, Steve headed over to the duo. As soon as he was there, both men looked to him.

"I got permission to create a team," Steve muttered. Bucky chuckled.

"How many?" Bucky wondered. Clint sighed, his head falling to look at the ground. Six... That was how many Steve had gotten permission for. And Clint was certain he'd be left in the dust. For some odd reason, Clint was actually fine with that. Don't get him wrong, it'd hurt like hell to be left behind and al-

"Seven," Steve admitted. Clint's head jerked up. What? Steve chuckled at Clint's reaction. "He was gonna give me six, but I had a plan on who I wanted on the team and I demanded seven."

"He'd never have given you that!" Clint cried, stunned. Steve shrugged before looking to the table of five men, apparently intent on ignoring the archer. Clint followed the gaze. He already knew they'd all join.

"They'll come. Hell, they'll enjoy it," Bucky pointed out. Steve snorted and then headed over to the table. At first, the table kinda twittered about the news. But then they all agreed, if Clint and Bucky and Dugan was gonna be on the team, they'd love to join. And beer needed to be involved as well. With a loud laugh at them, Steve headed back over to Bucky and Clint. "Told ya they're all idiots."

"How bout you? You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?" Steve asked, focusing mostly on Bucky. Clint laughed, taking another large sip of his drink as Bucky answered.

"Hell, no! The little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight. I'm following him," Bucky replied, turning to look at Steve. Steve smirked with a small laugh, turning to Clint. The archer simply shrugged but didn't verbally answer. Bucky took a sip of his drink then patted Steve on the arm. "But you're keeping the outfit, right?"

"You know what? It's kinda grown on me," Steve replied with a large smirk. Clint nearly choked on his drink at that. It _had_ actually been Steve's choice to keep the red, white and blue outfit? Steve turned to him and gently patted the archer's back. Around them, the room began to go silent but Steve didn't care at first. Instead he focused on Clint. "Wanna be our seventh?"

"Why the hell not?" Clint retorted with a sigh once he had calmed from his beer snafu. He worked with Steve well enough in the future that it wouldn't be a problem to do it now. And, while yeah, he might let out too much information, he sure as hell wasn't gonna leave Bucky's side. They had grown rather close lately. That's when the trio realized the place had gone deathly quiet. They turned to the separation door and stared as Peggy Carter, in a brilliant red dress, walked toward them.

"Agent Carter," Steve greeted. Clint huffed, wondering if he could sneak out of there before Peggy focused on him. Thankfully, Peggy ignored everyone as she moved to stand right before Steve.

"Ma'am," Bucky and Clint called very softly. Peggy just nodded at them but hardly focused on them. Clint sighed in relief. He was so glad she was going to begin to ignore him. But as he quickly glanced at Bucky, he could see the Sergeant wasn't all that glad.

"Howard has some equipment he needs you to try," she informed. Steve nodded slightly.

"Sounds good," he replied. After that there was an uneasy silence that fell over them all. Bucky glanced between Peggy and Steve with a small smirk. Clint tried to hold back his chuckle, shifting as if to move away but Peggy was blocking his exit. A loud cheer erupted from the other room, getting Peggy to shift enough for Clint to have room to slip past her.

"I see your top squad is prepping for duty," Peggy noted softly before turning back to look at Steve.

"You don't like music?" Steve wondered. Clint turned away from it all. He really didn't want to hear how badly Steve fails at this moment. Hell, he doubt he'd be able to look Steve straight in the face if he heard this. With a small sigh, Clint headed deeper into the pub. He wasn't all that far away, but at least now he couldn't hear them. Clint waited till Peggy left before going back over to see Bucky's highly confused face.

"I'm invisible. I'm... I'm turning into you. This is horrible dream," Bucky complained with a laugh. Clint snorted, leaning against the bar again just watching them. Steve chuckled and patted a hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"Don't take it so hard. Maybe she's got a friend," Steve joked. That's what sent Clint over the edge. He dropped into laughter that had both men turning to look at him with a smile. Clint shook his head, unable to say anything to what Steve said. "What?"

"Nothin', nothin'," Clint laughed before patting both their shoulders and walked off. Thankfully, neither of them followed after him. But as he walked by the other Commandos, Dugan reached out and caught his arm. Clint paused to look down at him.

"You comin'?" the man asked. Clint huffed out a laugh but nodded. Dugan let out a drunken cheer that Gabe quickly joined into. Both of them were grateful that the 'wizard' was going to be on their side, protecting them. "Yeah! Can't wait to get started!"

"You're nuts," Clint laughed. Dugan laughed as well but he finally released Clint.

* * *

"Howard Stark seriously wants to give all of us weapons?" Clint repeated for a second time. Steve's smile dipped a bit at this but he nodded.

"Yes," he replied. Bucky looked to Clint and saw that the archer was going to say something again so he just elbowed him. Taking the hit, Clint glanced over at the Sergeant and glared. Totally not cool.

"Dude, do you have a problem with getting new weapons?" Morita snipped before heading off to where Steve had pointed. With that, the others began to follow until it was just Bucky, Steve and Clint.

"More like I got an issue with Howard," the archer grumbled but not loud enough for Steve or Bucky to hear. Slowly, he followed after the others, with Steve and Bucky trailing after him. Heading to the meeting place with Howard ended up having it that Peggy suddenly joined them.

"Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, Corporal Barton," she greeted warmly to them. Clint just nodded his head as Steve and Bucky gave her a more proper greeting. "I hear you are all getting new equipment today."

"You still hear too much," Clint lightly snipped. Steve spun his head to glare at the archer but turned back when Peggy laughed.

"Well, I am pleased as punch to find that most of what I hear is true," she retorted. Bucky snorted this time. Clint huffed, trying to keep himself from smiling at her. Having hung out with her numerous times now, the two men had quickly learned of Peggy's witticism that kept them on their toes. "Howard has been going about this for a while now. Has a few things he wants tested out."

Clint grimaced. If Howard was anything like Tony, he really didn't wanna test a damn weapon out on the field. God forbid the thing blew up in his face, or didn't even fire anything! Clint knew that Howard had been a weapons developer for a long time, but that didn't always mean the first batch was workable.

"I am glad to hear that he was willing to help outfit the others with better weaponry," Steve reported with an awkward kind of tone and certainly smile. Clint snorted which set Bucky off into a choked laughter. Steve sighed, not even willing to give them the victory of his ire. That just nearly set Clint off even more.

"Well, I'm glad you both seem to enjoy this," Peggy told Clint and Bucky. Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Ma'am, I've been friends with this moron for years. I know how shitty he is with speaking to women," Bucky informed. Peggy gave a noise of humored displeasure.

"Right."

"Captain Rogers! I see this is your team!" Howard called, his voice echoing down the hall. Clint winced, his aids suddenly squealing in protest to something. He doubted it was Howard's voice as it seemed to continue even after the noise died down. Something in Howard's lab must be messing with them. Oh joy. This weapon testing was gonna go great. "-and here I have a lovely M1941 Johnson rifle."

Both Clint and Bucky reached for it. They stilled, looking to each other as everyone turned their attention to the duo.

"I was trained as a sniper," Bucky pointed out. Clint's eyes narrowed.

"So was I," the archer replied. Steve raised an eyebrow before remembering what was going on. While Clint had never gone through basic in 1943, he had training from sometime in the future. There must be a lot they didn't know about him.

"I'm likely better trained on this rifle," Bucky added, giving Clint his own raised eyebrow. And sadly, Bucky was right. Clint hadn't ever really worked with one of these rifles. They had stopped being produced sometime in 61. Glancing about, the archer noted a M1928A1 Thompson. Smiling, he nodded his head to that.

"I guess I'll just take that one," he responded. Bucky looked over at it before narrowing his eyes. Before Clint could even move, Bucky went off and snatched the rifle off the table, turning to look back at Clint with a daring gaze. Clint snorted and reached for the Johnson. This would likely be the one and only time he'd be able to hold something like this. And certainly the only time he'd be able to fire one. He was going to enjoy it.

"If you'd like, we can go to the range and practice with them," Howard suggested, looking between the duo. Steve crossed his arms over his chest, looking at them. Clint smirked, his gaze not even leaving Bucky.

"I'm willing," the archer said. Bucky nodded his own consent and off they went. The range was just on the outskirts of camp, but still in sight. Normal shooting area was set up only a short distance away from the target, but both snipers decided to put themselves further back. Nearly two hundred yards or so back. Howard quickly approved but asked for them to wait until he had set something up.

"Are you both sure you want to have this be a shoot off?" Steve asked. Bucky glanced toward Howard before looking back.

"Why not? Might be the only chance we get," Bucky pointed out. Clint laughed. Smiling, Steve shifted to the side. "You still sure you can beat me?"

Clint laughed at Bucky again before Clint noticed Howard gave them a nod. Smiling, Clint headed off toward the position the duo had agreed upon before. Bucky was quick to follow even as Steve backed away. Once in the designated area, they settled down. Bucky started messing with his scope while Clint pulled his off.

"Really. Gonna give me advantage?" Bucky huffed. Clint shrugged.

"Thought I'd even the playing field." Bucky rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face. While he had never checked on where Clint's shots landed, Bucky knew Clint was a good shot. Settling in, both men decided they'd take six shots at the target. Each one getting checked by Howard, who had some type of device that was watching where the bullets went. Clint waved down to them, signaling that both snipers were ready. It took a moment before Howard gave them the okay to fire back. They fired their first shots at the same time. The other six staggered afterwards. Once down, they packed up, smiling at each other. "Nice shooting. Very tight grouping."

"I would say same to you, but I only saw one hole," Bucky chuckled, pleased about Clint's reaction. Clint snorted. As they drew closer, Bucky noticed all the gawkers were staring at them. They slowed down and mentally Clint wished he hadn't intentionally tried to win. He should have flubbed up at some point.

"How?" Howard let out when they got close enough. Clint looked to Bucky before looking back to Howard. Bucky frowned.

"How what?" he asked. Howard pointed to the targets.

"How?" he repeated.

"How did I get a tight grouping?" Bucky wondered, confused.

"Not that, Sarg," Falsworth retorted before pointing to Clint. "You got each bullet exactly in the same hole. How?"

"Good aim," Clint responded, shifting his feet a bit. Howard held up a hand before spinning to look at everyone around. Then he grabbed a colt from a nearby man. Clint frowned as the genius came to him, snatched the rifle from his hands and shoved the colt into his chest.

"Do it again," Howard demanded. Clint frowned, looking around at everyone, Bucky included.

"Go on," Steve encouraged when Clint looked to him. Sighing, Clint raised the colt and fired eight shots without even looking. The area was silent as Howard spun to check his equipment.

"What the fuck man," Gabe grumbled, looking at the area. Clint shrugged even as Howard looked back to him. Then the archer smiled.

"I'm even better with a bow," he informed. Bucky, Dugan and Gabe all made a noise of humored surprise. Howard stared for a moment or two more before shaking a finger at the archer and then spinning off to the equipment/lab area he had. Slowly the group diminished and Clint realized what he had just done. "Fuck."

"What?" Steve wondered.

"I think I just became the reason Stark Industries creates bows," the archer mumbled.

* * *

**First off, I would like to thank/apologize to fujoshi empress. Google translate is how I got those sayings. I will likely not change the other chapter to fix the phrases, but when I go to post this same story of Archive of our Own, I will do those changes.**

**OMG... The Coronavirus is really not good for me as a writer. I have gotten so used to silence, privacy and certainly no TV that now that everyone is home, they are constantly around. I'm having a hard time writing. And while most people (myself included in this thinking) would just say 'grab your laptop and move to another room,' I can't. The reason I can't is because it has been proven to me various times that when I am not around watching Darius, he gets into things he shouldn't and just overall upsets the hubby. So, I stay... I deal... Hopefully by the time this whole event has ended I'll be used to it and can ignore what is happening. Doubtful.**

**Darius is doing well as usual. He's enjoying his father being home even if he is still having a hard time convincing people to play with him. Myself again included. I've become the official announcer to many Monster Jam races, free styles and some rather interesting WWE events (mostly cage matches). It's fun, if not distracting. The few times I've tried to physically play with Darius on the floor, I ended up with a sore back that lasted two days and knees that gave me issues the next day. Darius slightly understands, hence being the announcer. That is my version of play. Though lately, Darius will ask me to announce but before I can say anything about what he is doing, he starts announcing. So, I ask him what I should do. 'Be the announcer.' But how can I be the announcer when you are? Well... Apparently I have to be the background announcer that talks about the history of the driver or the 'grudge' match between the wrestlers. Yeah... I do a little bit of that before slowly fading out and seeing how long it would take Darius to notice I stopped. Sometimes it only took a few minutes. One time it took the entire day. Ha, liked that day for writing.**

**Baby Jason is doing well. I hardly see him due to his parents staying upstairs and by the time they come downstairs to hang out, I am exhausted so I head upstairs to sleep. Yeah... I'm exhausted from sitting on my ass, on a chair, typing and doing nothing much else. What is wrong with me? Ugh. But, Jason has been a happy little camper. His mother is getting a bit antsy. She doesn't like being cooped up for that long. Doesn't help that we live in Mass and now the 'stay at home' thing has been extended to May or something. (I try to ignore the news on all that)**

**For all who are sick or know someone who is sick. I pray for all of you and hope that the various writers posts are helping you pass the time.**


	7. France

CHAPTER 7 - France

Surprisingly, Steve had saved them in the beginning of November, much earlier than Clint had always assumed. Guess he should have asked a bit about it. After that, Clint raked his brain, trying to remember how many battles the Howling Commandos went through. He could only think of maybe eleven battles. The first one he thought would be coming was sometime mid-December. So, it was a huge surprise when Steve led them to their first battle four days after the Commandos came into existence.

"Holy fuck!" Clint shouted as a cannon zoomed past him, nearly hitting his shoulder as he ducked down. He had gotten slightly separated from the rest of the Commandos and was rapidly running out of ammo. Something needed to change soon or he'd end up getting killed. Cursing under his breath, Clint put his gun away into his holder. A second later, Izril jumped to his hand. Hissing out the arrow spell, Clint lifted the bow and started shooting as fast as he could, mowing down enemies left and right.

"Clint!" a voice sounded through the haze. The archer turned to look to see Bucky was glancing at him while shooting. Once Bucky noticed that Clint had his eyes on him, he snapped a hand across his neck. Clint's eyes widened before he whispered the vanishing spell and dropped the bow. Just in time too considering Steve had joined the Sergeant. Sighing, Clint snatched his gun up again and rushed to their side.

"Running low on ammo," Clint reported which had Bucky grimace a bit. Wasn't good for him. The archer was lucky he had been 'alone,' otherwise he wouldn't have been able to use his bow. Steve dug into one of his uniform's pockets before tossing a clip over. Clint snatched it from the air, unloaded what was left in his clip before jamming the new one in place.

"Lets move," Steve ordered, heading off. Bucky followed first and as Clint moved, he found himself stopping at fallen comrades to search them quickly to get more clips and sometimes just their guns in general. Nearing the rest of the battalion, Clint broke off a bit from Steve and Bucky. As he did, he ended up near someone from another unit. The archer was there for a second before the guy stepped down on something and the ground exploded, tossing Clint into the air and off to the side, cracking his head against a tree and going black.

* * *

"We're lucky it isn't much more than some cuts and bruises," a voice filtered into Clint's mind as he struggled to waken himself. He knew that voice. How did he know that voice?

"Does not make sense. He had been nearly on top of it himself," another voice replied. Falsworth. The other voice had to have been Morita. Cautiously, Clint cracked his eyes open. The entire Howling Commandos group was hanging around where ever he was laying. It didn't really look like a medical tent or a hospital. So, where had they taken him?

"Welcome back," Bucky snarked as soon as he noticed Clint had opened his eyes. Clint gave a faux moan before actually moving to show he was fully awake. "Nearly lost you."

"I'm fine though, right?" the archer wondered, really not looking forward to the possibility of being sent State-side with no where to go. Even if that would get him away from all this shit.

"Relatively," Dugan retorted with a grim face. Clint frowned as he looked over the group. Dernier, Morita, Falsworth, and Steve all seemed highly worried. While Bucky, Dugan and Gabe just stared at him, curious.

"Are you experience any harsh pain?" Morita asked. Clint frowned as Dugan and Bucky snorted. The others turned to look at them.

"No, I'm hardly feeling any pain," Clint responded. Bucky intentionally leaned over and poked one of the deeper looking gashes. Clint turned and glared at him but forced himself not to wince. It was in that moment that he realized he didn't have a shirt on.

"You're such a liar, Barton," Bucky huffed. Clint quickly sat up, twisting away from Morita to better face Bucky and in turn Steve.

"I can handle myself," the archer growled.

"Yes, we have seen that," a voice called out into the tent. Everyone spun to look at the entrance, only to see Peggy was standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. "Was interesting to hear that you had gotten injured."

"Hardly the first time, ma'am," Clint snorted. Peggy smiled.

"I have heard," she joked. Clint, Dugan and Bucky chuckled.

"I feel as if we are missing something," Morita grumbled for the others.

"Agent Carter and her crew have been with the 107th for a while now," Gabe informed. Peggy nodded her head even as Steve looked over to his Sergeants and Corporal. None of the trio even dared to look over at the Captain.

"I feared the worse when I learned you had gotten tossed by a land mine," Peggy told Clint, ignoring the others for now. Clint frowned.

"I'm sorry, but... Why do you care so much about what happens to me?" Clint finally asked, sick and tired of all the subterfuge. Bucky spun and smacked Clint on the arm even as Dugan went and slapped the back of his head. Clint hardly protested their treatments while Morita prepared himself for Clint needing medical help. Even Steve shifted to give the archer a nasty look but Clint was just done.

"It is not so much you as it is the three of you," Peggy replied pointing between Bucky, Dugan and Clint. Bucky and Dugan stilled. They seriously hadn't expected that.

"Why them?" Falsworth wondered. Peggy raised an eyebrow at the British-men.

"Have you not heard?" she started. The other Commandos shook their heads as Clint growled and got to his feet, intent on leaving. Bucky stood up beside him to stop the archer from being stupid. Dugan shifted in his seat to get closer to the duo. "Of all the units from the 107th, these three are the only ones that were kept together."

The trio traded looks, confused. There was no way that was right. Someone had to have stayed with their original members. Sadly, Clint could tell that Peggy was deadly serious. The trio had been together since they first met in the States and now here they all stood, Commandos.

"What do you mean?" Steve inquired. Peggy sighed.

"Barnes, Dugan and Barton have had their unit cut down to five or less people in the past. Any other unit that got that small tended to break up into other units. But, no one was willing to separate them."

"We aren't anything special," Bucky grumbled. Peggy rolled her eyes. "Just thought that the Colonel didn't do that."

"Oh? How do you think you got other men to join you? They all came from units that had gotten too small or lost their leader," Peggy informed. Clint casted his eyes down to the ground before frowning deeply.

"Is that why Dugan was still allowed to work underneath Bucky once he became a Sergeant?" the archer questioned. Peggy nodded. Dazed, Clint shook his head. "I have to go."

Without waiting for someone to comment, Clint swiftly slipped past Peggy and out of the tent. He continued on, hardly paying attention to his surroundings until he hit the edge of the camp. For a moment, he wanted to turn back and just wander the camp but then his hand started to 'itch.' He needed to go shoot. Decided, Clint slipped off into the woods the camp was set near. It took him only five minutes to find a place suitable for his needs. Once decided, Izril snapped out into his hand and as he lifted the bow to get ready for a shot, he whispered out the needed spell.

"Impressive work, though I didn't believe there were any bow and arrows in camp," a female voice said into the quiet of the area. Clint stilled. Seriously? He was found again? God, he was gonna have to seriously start paying attention. Then his mind registered it as a female voice. _'Dear god, don't let that be Carter!'_ Slowly, the archer turned and indeed it was Peggy standing in front of a nearby tree. Bucky was sulking behind her with a highly guilty look.

"I tried," the Sergeant mouthed. Clint tilted his head back so he could look at the heavens, even though his eyes were closed.

"Do you wish to tell me what is going on?" Peggy questioned.

"No," Clint replied, dropping his head back so he could look at her. Peggy rolled her eyes. "Look, can you just forget you ever saw this? Just, walk away."

"I can promise not to tell a soul if you tell me how," she bargained. Clint furrowed his brows. What the hell did she mean by that? Then he understood. If Clint didn't explain how he could do this, she'd tell someone else.

"Would you believe magic?" Bucky grumbled from behind her. Peggy had an eyebrow raise at that, her gaze never moving from Clint. The archer winced. This was the absolute worse thing that could ever happen to him. Slowly, she looked to the 'target' that Clint had been using. Then glanced down at the ground around him before her lips puckered.

"Any reason you are not using this skill on the battlefield?" Peggy countered. Clint blinked his eyes rapidly in surprise. Peggy didn't care about his magic? Wow, what the fuck was going on here? This had to be an alternate reality or something. Swallowing his fear, Clint forced himself to reply.

"I only recently learned how to do a lot of these spells. And I can't always guarantee yet that I'll be able to hold the spell while running. I've been using it whenever I was alone or when my unit was extremely low on ammo with no hope of getting replenished in time," Clint informed. Peggy smiled.

"Spells such as the bow?" Clint shook his head no.

"The bow itself is... I guess magical. Izril drops into a pocket dimension when I don't need her. The spell I cast is the one that creates the arrows. I can also make them vanish and..." here Clint hesitated, glancing over to Bucky with a guilty face again. Bucky pursed his lips and nodded. Might as well get it out in the open now. Even if Peggy had no idea he didn't have this same power as a teen in the future. "I can cast a protection spell."

"A protection spell?" she countered. Clint nodded. "Have you done this on all you unit members?" Clint again nodded. "Then how-"

"He just said he recently learned how to do these things. There isn't always a guarantee that he could do it and hold it to keep all of us completely safe. It could be a mistake in the spell, loss of concentration, the guys getting too far away from him before returning to his side, maybe even a proximity limit. But we don't know and can't ask his teacher," Bucky defended. Peggy glanced quickly at Bucky before refocusing on Clint.

"Why have you not asked?"

"My teacher is gone," Clint evaded. Peggy sighed, looking down.

"I apologize," she replied. Clint said nothing. Sighing again, Peggy turned her gaze back up to Clint. "I should mention that Captain Rogers is looking for you as well. It will not be long before he looks here."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked off. Cussing, Clint quickly casted the vanishing spell while dropping Izril back to the pocket dimension. Bucky moved to get near Clint in order to press a hand onto the archer's shoulder. Clint tensed for a moment before relaxing once again. Before either could speak, they heard a bit of crashing from the woods. Both of them jerked to attention, snapping their colts out from their holsters. And that was how Steve found himself when he burst out into the clearing. His friends, aiming guns at him.

"Woah there!" the Captain cried.

"Damn it Stevie," Bucky hissed. "You seriously need to learn stealth."

"Are you okay?" Steve asked the archer, ignoring his best friend. Clint snorted before nodding. Yeah, he was doing a bit better now. Nothing else could make a difference to how he felt anymore. He was just becoming numb. Steve nodded. "I hate to do this but... We gotta go back to our tent and rest. We're shipping out early tomorrow."

* * *

Mid December, Clint found himself with the Commandos in France. Strasbourg, or something like that. Steve stormed the building first, leaving the others to trail after him. Clint purposely trailed in the back, making sure to watch over their behind. Firing away as they entered, they found the place was filled with a bit more opposition then they had planned for. Steve didn't care, just plowed on. Clint gritted his teeth. It took all of his mental power to remember that the Commandos survive, hardly get hurt during any of these upcoming battles. But then again. He wasn't a real Commando. He _could_ actually die.

"Barton, go set up charges down the west end," Steve ordered, hitting a Hydra agent over the head. Clint nodded, twisting to head away from the Captain. Dugan followed after him, acting as back up. While Clint appreciated the help, he could handle setting the charge by himself.

"Didn't hear him tell you to come," Clint snarked after a bit. The few small skirmishes that they had gone through, Clint had noticed that Dugan, Gabe or Bucky had been right by his side. Dugan was the one seen more often. The Sergeant chuckled.

"I ain't leaving you out of my sight," the man replied. Clint rolled his eyes but didn't fight it. Let Dugan do whatever he wanted. Dernier had happily made the bombs that they were currently setting and for half a moment Clint wondered how safe they were. Then he had to remind himself, they all survived... Well, the Commandos all survived. Maybe it was going to be nice having Dugan nearby if it meant his own safety. Then Clint remembered refusing all those guys from joining their group based on the groups 'survival' rates.

"You know, staying with me doesn't increase your chance of survival," Clint joked, moving a bit faster the plant all the bombs that had been handed to him. Dugan frowned, not that Clint saw. It did increase the archer's own chance of survival but he wasn't going to tell Dugan that. As they went, Hydra agents came out to the hall and tried fighting the duo. But Clint was easily able to kill them all, Dugan attempted to catch any of the others but ended up mostly just protecting their behind.

"Seemed to work for me pretty well so far," Dugan laughed. Clint snorted.

"Oh fuck off," the archer lightheartedly stated. Dugan chuckled. Clint rolled his eyes again but had to seriously admit, he was kinda grateful that the man was kinda 'stalking' him at this point. Dugan pretty much attached himself to the archer now that Bucky was getting attached to Steve once again. No one else on the team but Dugan, Bucky and Gabe knew what Clint could do and the archer really wanted to keep it that way. In fact, Clint even had noticed that Gabe and Dernier had also gotten close to him. Though, Clint doubted Dernier actually was doing it on purpose. He figured the French man was just sticking close to the 'only' person who could speak his language.

"HAIL HY-" a voice cried from in front of them. Clint shot the guy. Dugan smiled.

"Hail shit," the archer grumbled. This time Dugan cracked up. Clint shook his head, looking to the man. "You should keep it down before the whol-"

An explosion rocked through the facility. Both men froze. Was that close? No. That had been the other side of the place. Clint looked to Dugan who had a small smirk on his face. The archer rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what the man was thinking. He pushed on rather than commenting on it.

"We gonna blow once we set?" Dugan wondered. Clint nodded, putting up the bomb with a smile. For the fuck of it, Clint turned and ran. Dugan took a moment before he shouted and followed after the archer. After a good distance away from the bomb, Clint turned back and laughed at Dugan. The man let out a growl before trying to pick up his pace. As soon as they arrived where they had ditched Steve, Clint turned and pressed the detonation button. Another explosion rocked the facility. A moment later, Steve came running toward them. He didn't look panicked or anything, just like he wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Cap?"

"Move!" Steve demanded. Without questioning it, Clint rushed after the man. Dugan followed a moment behind and then there was an explosion much closer than any other before. Clint looked ahead of them and through the still open doors. The rest of the team were already waiting for the trio outside. Sighing in relief, Clint glanced back at Dugan. The man was trailing behind a bit but not too bad. They reached the others as a few more explosions rocked the area. Dernier was surprisingly good with his bombs. The bombs' destruction of the surrounding area was really good but when angled just the right way, the explosions only hit toward that way, so standing by the open door, they were rather safe.

"You boys are so slow," Morita called out. Clint huffed remembering Pietro briefly. Damn speedster always made fun of how 'slow' he was. Course now, he missed the kid. Fuck Morita.

"Maybe Rogers just wanted you closer to the exit, in case you fell," the archer retorted. There was a twitter of laughter even as Morita flipped him off. A moment later there was a crack of a gun. Steve twisted and noted a Hydra agent falling off some remains of a nearby building. The Captain whirled to look at Bucky, hidden over a ridge, and nodded his head. Clint mentally snarled at himself. He should have noticed that before Bucky did. Even if Bucky had a higher vantage point then him.

"Guys, let's just finish checking the place out," Steve ordered with a roll of his eyes.

"Sir, yes, sir," the whole group mocked. Steve grunted in exasperation but didn't respond. None of them could stop themselves for giving him shit. Including Bucky and Clint. They tended to be the worst culprits and a lot of times, they teamed up on him. Almost felt like being home and working with the Avengers. Except it had typically been Tony and Clint teaming up on Steve. Only after the 'Hero Civil War,' did it change to Bucky and Clint teaming up on Steve, with the help of some of the other Bartons.

Clint twisted and headed off to check on the rest of the town. Dugan started to follow him but Clint just turned and glared at him. This time there was no reason for the other Sergeant to follow him. The man just smiled, apparently not caring. Clint snorted before heading off, slipping between two buildings. Dugan of course followed. After a few more turns around the place, Clint stopped and looked at Dugan.

"You gonna check to make sure there ain't any more?" the archer hissed getting a little peeved now. Searching the area would go a lot faster if Dugan looked on his own. In all the time Clint spent with Dugan, the Commando hadn't acted like this. What was the point of him stalking Clint? It made no sense. Actually, it was getting to the point today where Clint was almost ready to shoot Dugan in the leg to keep him away. Dugan shrugged.

"Checking to make sure nothin' sneaks up behind you," Dugan replied as if that was the most common thing in the world. Which, to be honest, it was. Just hadn't been how Dugan had rolled before. Clint rolled his eyes and headed off again. At least he had a decent enough excuse to make Clint not actually harm the guy. Dugan still followed behind. Ten minutes later, Clint felt safe to say that the town was empty now. He turned back to the meeting point. Dugan happily trailed after him. They arrived at the point before anyone. Steve came up next.

"Anyone?" he asked.

"None," Dugan reported as Clint gave him a sidelong look. Steve nodded. A moment later, Bucky came down from the hill that led into the town.

"Haven't seen any other movement outside of our team," Bucky said before looking to Clint and Dugan with a small smile. Clint sneakily flipped the other sniper off. Since finding out Clint had been a sniper and was better than him, Bucky kept putting them in 'competition' at every battle. Steve smirked.

"Alright, we'll get out of here when everyone comes back," Steve stated. The trio with him nodded. With that, Clint started looking around. It was true that they hadn't seen anyone, but the archer was going to stay on watch. He slipped up once, he wasn't gonna do it again. Even if the Commandos make it through the war. Soon after Steve's declaration, Gabe and Dernier came back. Falsworth was next. Morita was last. Clint focused on him.

"Jeez, could you be any slower?" the archer joked. Morita stopped for a moment, looking over the rest of the group before sarcastically laughing. Clint smirked. Revenge was sweet.

"Alright, enough guys. Lets just head back to camp," Steve ordered, even if his smile betrayed him.

"Ah, come on Stevie, let the guys have a little bit of fun," Bucky laughed. Steve rolled his eyes but they all did head off to the way that the camp was waiting. Dugan sidled himself up near Clint and the archer groaned, looking to Bucky for help. Bucky just chuckled and shook his head. He wasn't gonna help. Groaning, Clint looked to Gabe but the man had Dernier already trailing after him like a lost little lamb. Gabe was the 'only' one who could speak with the French-man. Knowing he wasn't gonna get help there, Clint looked back to Bucky who was pointedly having a conversation with Steve. Clint knew that Dugan was likely doing this because of their long time friendship. Or maybe cause he knew about Clint's magical talents and figured even if Steve was good enough to protect all of them, Dugan was gonna make sure he still stayed with Clint's magic. Hell, maybe Dugan was just doing this now to tick him off. Either way, Clint wasn't comfortable with it.

The entire walk back to the camp, Dugan stayed beside the archer. Clint slipped through the group, trying to lose the man but Dugan was determined and no one was willing to help Clint. After a little bit, Clint glanced to Bucky and smiled. Bucky frowned before Clint ran at him and planting his feet, bending and launching himself, he jumped up and over the guy, twisting a bit in the air to land right in front of Steve. Both men jerked to a stop in surprise. Behind them the other Commandos paused as well.

"Holy hell, Barton," Falsworth cried. "You raised in a circus?"

"Yup," the archer admitted before doing a few back flips away from the group. Bucky laughed, rushing after Clint in an attempt to keep up. In all the time they had been together, Clint never really opened up about himself. Clint kept flipping, using the momentum to get further and further away. After that, everyone but Steve raced to catch up. They got a good distance away before Steve rushed past them all with a laugh. Clint stopped flipping. "That ain't cool, man!"

Growling, he booked it as well. In the future, Clint was actually able to keep up with Steve for a good amount of distance. But keeping up is much different than trying to catch up. Behind the duo, everyone else let out a cry of surprise. Steve slowed for a moment, allowing Clint to catch up. If Clint had paid better attention, he had started catching up to Steve before the Captain slowed down. They ran in tandem for a bit. After maybe a few minutes (longer than Clint normally lasted), Clint finally started to slow, breathing deeply. While Clint could run long distances normally, following Steve's speed always tired him out faster. Steve just laughed, not even winded or bothered by their distance and pace.

"Fuck you," the archer growled between breaths but the duo stopped regardless. Clint leaned against a nearby tree even as Steve stood in the middle of the path, chuckling. Even tired and breathless, Clint couldn't stop the gigantic smile that appeared on his face. It was so good hanging out with Steve again.

"Don't try and race me," the Captain retorted. Clint flipped him off with a heavy breath. Jesus... And yet Steve never stopped asking Clint to ask him for a god-damn morning run. Fuck him. Just as Clint caught his breath again, the others showed up. They weren't running. Steve laughed at them all.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up you ex-asthmatic!" Bucky snorted. This got Clint to laugh as well as Steve. The whole company at this point knew that Steve used to be much smaller, weaker and sickly then he currently was and thankfully, none of them gave a rat's ass.

"You're just jealous," Steve tossed back. Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Go screw yourself, punk," the Sergeant called. The whole group laughed at this.

"Je paierais pour les voir se battre," Dernier told the group, not even caring that typically only Gabe could translate him. But Clint finally was feeling bad for the guy. He could speak French just as well as Gabe. And most of the group already knew he spoke German. (I'd pay to see them fight.)

"Je vais prendre le pari que j'avais battu Steve," Clint replied with a snort. The whole group paused just staring at him. Clint nearly questioned it before just sighing. There was a lot of things that the Commandos didn't know about him. (I'm going to take the bet that I beat Steve.)

"You can fucking speak French?" Gabe snapped. Clint shrugged, glancing at Dernier who thankfully didn't look upset. All the man did was smile happily at the archer. Nodding a thanks, Clint answered.

"No one asked."

* * *

"We have no way to send you to Belgium before the end of the month," Major Morris informed. Steve nodded, looking quickly to Bucky and Clint who had been called in to the meeting as well. Clint couldn't tell why he was brought in rather than Dugan. Dugan was of higher rank than him. It made no sense what-so-ever. But Steve insisted it be him.

"We need to get a move on before they decide to move bases," Steve replied. Major Morris nodded.

"I don't dispute that. Just, I have no conceivable way to get you there," Major Morris explained.

"You can't spare a Jeep?" Clint wondered, figuring that would have been Steve's next question. Major Morris turned and glared at the archer. Clint winced, looking to Steve and Bucky for help. Neither of them spoke. With a sigh, the archer hung his head. Whelp, he was never going to make a suggestion or ask a question again. Military life was totally different than S.H.I.E.L.D. And no one was like Fury, willing to take his brand of stupid.

"We have no vehicles to spare, hardly any rations, and certainly not enough ammo to safely get you to Bastogne," Major Morris corrected, without taking his eyes off of Clint. Bucky's eyes twitched toward Clint but he refused to speak. "We will not be getting supplies for another week."

"Can't we ask Stark?" Bucky asked. Major Morris sighed.

"Stark left a while ago," Major Morris answered, his voice beginning to slip into anger. Steve glanced at Bucky and Clint with a gaze that basically said to cut it out. Clint rolled his eyes. Bucky frowned but said nothing. They both knew that Steve would have been asking the same questions if they weren't here. "I promise, once we get supplies, I will be able to send you out."

"Thank you, sir. That's all we ask," Steve graciously stated. Major Morris nodded, dismissing them. Clint was first out of the tent. Bucky slipped out next with Steve hot on his tail. They got maybe ten to fifteen feet from Major Morris's tent before Steve reached out and snatched both men's arms. "What the hell?"

"What? We ain't allowed to ask questions?" Bucky snipped. Steve growled but Clint could see something gleaming in the Captain's eyes.

"That wasn't asking questions, that was going against him," the Captain hissed, not sounding as angry as he looked or was acting. Clint scoffed, unsure what to think of Steve's behavior.

"You would have asked the same thing if we hadn't done it for you. Don't give me that," Clint snapped. Steve turned to him and he looked like he was going to argue but then he sighed, looked back at Morris's tent and then sagged in defeat.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Steve admitted, much softer than before. Clint felt his eyebrow raise in surprise. He never expected Steve to admit that the archer was right. Bucky snorted.

"You're such a stupid punk," Bucky muttered with a shake of his head. Steve looked to him with a weary smile. "Us asking saves you from getting in trouble with Major Morris."

"I know... Just," Steve whispered, turning briefly to look at Major Morris's tent once again. This time someone was standing at the edge, looking at them. After a moment, he walked further away. Bucky and Clint trailed after, curious. When Steve deemed he was far enough away, the Captain stopped and turned back to the duo. "Gotta make it seem like I'm disciplining you."

Clint laughed, shaking his head. Yeah, this was totally the Steve he knew. Bucky even chuckled at the Captain. They headed off to go find everyone else. A nearby town was still in good enough shape to have a hotel that was open and offered rooms to various members of the army. Somehow, the Howling Commandos had gotten three rooms. Gabe and Dernier decided to share a room. Dugan, much to his consternation, was made to share with Morita and Falsworth. That left Steve, Bucky and Clint to share a room as well.

"Thank you for not making me share with Dugan," Clint cried as he headed into the room that he was sharing with Steve and Bucky. Bucky laughed. Outside of Dugan himself, Bucky loved riding Clint about the fact that the other Sergeant was 'stalking' him.

"What's wrong with Dugan?" the Sergeant asked. They had all gotten along so well before. And even though it was obvious that Clint was trying to escape the man now, no one questioned it.

"I can't get him to leave me alone," Clint complained, actually sounding more like a whine than anything. Bucky laughed. While it was true, that Dugan wouldn't leave the archer alone, Clint had no idea that Bucky had asked both Dugan and Gabe to help keep watch on him. And with Gabe having to stay more with Dernier, that left Dugan. Bucky wanted it that way so that if Clint was alone with Dugan, Gabe or himself, then the archer could use Izril.

"Why did he take such a liking to you?" Steve wondered. Bucky and Clint paused, looking to each other before they looked back to Steve.

"The three of us_ have_ been together since the beginning. Guess he figures Clint needs protection seeing as I'm with you now," Bucky mentioned. Clint went and punched Bucky in the arm. Bucky cackled, dodging the archer as Clint tried to chase him down. Steve laughed at their antics but didn't interfere.

"Hey, what's up with them?" Dugan questioned a moment later as Bucky and Clint ran past his room. Steve just shook his head. By the time he got to his shared room, Bucky and Clint were wrestling on the floor, this time about the claw foot tub. One of them had already started filling it, so Steve went over to check the depth and the temperature. It was warm, not hot but warm. Warmer than anything they had had since coming out here. Steve turned back to the duo who had yet to stop fighting. With a smile, Steve watched the water line increase till it got high enough then turned off the flow. After one final look, Steve stripped off his clothes and got inside. They'd realize it sooner or later.

"HA!" Clint cried as he finally pinned Bucky down. Then both of them looked up to see Steve already in the tub. Steve just gave them a happy wave, watching as Bucky bucked Clint off of him. "Aww... Steve... No."

"Aww, Steve, yes," Steve replied, intentionally relaxing into the water. Bucky snorted, heading over to check how big the tub was. Not enough for either man to join Steve. Bucky huffed.

"I miss when you were small," the Sergeant grumbled before heading over to one of the two beds. Steve cackled even as Clint huffed himself and headed to the other bed. That was when all three of them noted there was only two beds. And even worse, two twin size beds. None of them could share.

"Aww, beds, no," Clint mumbled, looking to see if there was any way to salvage a third bed.

"I stole the tub, so I'll sleep on the floor," Steve offered, sitting up a bit to stare at the other two. Bucky shook his head as Clint grimaced.

"Nah, Stevie, I'll take the floor," Bucky argued. Clint rolled his eyes.

"I'm of lowest rank here. Fuck you both, I'm on the floor," Clint snapped, getting up to grab his bag and set it off by the far wall, underneath the window. Even while laying down, he'd be able to have sight lines to most of the room. He then began to futz around with his pack, back to the other two in an attempt to ignore whatever argument they might be trying to have with him. It took maybe a minute before Clint felt the bag could be comfortable enough to lay on it. He was about to try it out when wet arms wrapped around him, pulling him up with a yelp. It took only a few seconds before Clint realized, Steve was about to dump him, fully clothed, into the tub. "No! NO! STEVE!"

_ SPLASH_

"Fuck you," Clint hissed when he popped back up. His legs had been out of the tub so mostly it was his head and chest that had gotten dunked. Steve and Bucky stood there laughing at him. Clint turned to glare at them before realizing, Steve was still stark nude. With a flush, he turned away. There was no way in hell he'd ever be able to face Steve again if he saw him in the future after seeing what was going on downstairs.

In the end, Clint got his way. Not really a good thing considering he was sleeping on the floor, but hey. He couldn't complain. Bucky and Steve were at least nice enough to strip off some of the blankets to act as a buffer from the floor, but it was almost worse than laying in a tent. Hell, the floor was almost as equally bad to the time they had gotten to the camp that made everyone but Bucky and Dugan sleep on a cot and that was saying something since Clint slept on some damn pointy rocks. As he drifted off, Clint wondered if Major Morris would be fine with him stealing a cot from camp to put in the room. Or, maybe he should just stick with camp. Leave the rest of the Commandos to the hotel.

The morning found Clint and Morita sore as all heck. Apparently Dugan and Falsworth had won the beds in his room. While Morita made sure to complain and 'beg' Steve to make one of them switch off for the night, Clint made sure not to say a word. There was no way he'd let Bucky or Steve sleep on the floor. But after accidentally loudly cracking his back, Bucky and Steve looked to him with guilty eyes.

"No," Clint told them decisively, knowing what they were both thinking. The rest of the Commandos stopped talking and looked to the trio. It took only a moment before Morita realized Clint had gotten the shit end of the stick with him. But, Clint seemed more angry over the idea of switching than he was. Thankfully, he was smart enough not to say anything.

"If Morita can switch up with his roommates, we should as well," Steve suggested. Clint shook his head, determined to not let either man sleep on the floor. He was used to this. Used to... Wait... They might be used to it as well. Fuck it, Clint still wasn't going to let either of them lose their beds.

"No," he repeated.

"Barton," Bucky warned. Clint crossed his arms, showing that he was digging his feet into the dirt. Dugan groaned, rolling his eyes. Gabe even gave a small wince. When Clint set his mind on something, there was no breaking it. Didn't help that Bucky was much the same way and the group was quickly learning that Steve was just as stubborn.

"Fine. Hell to the fucking no," the archer stated. There was a twitter of laughter from the other men. Everyone enjoyed when the trio butted heads which happened more often than not. They were all stubborn. Something Clint usually wasn't with Future Steve but at this point, he totally didn't want to deal with a lot of Steve's orders (off the battlefield).

"Nous pourrions toujours changer de chambre," Dernier called. Clint turned to look at him. (We could always change rooms)

"Vous voulez abandonner le lit," the archer retorted before Gabe could say a word. Dernier sat back with a small smile. Everyone could tell he was glad someone else could speak with him. Not that Gabe wasn't a bad guy, but only speaking to one person in a group of eight, kinda sucked. (You wanna give up the bed)

"Hey, I didn't agree to switch up beds with the floor!" Gabe snapped in English. They were lucky that Dernier had understood English, for the most part, as Gabe wasn't always able to translate things in time.

"Neither did I!" Dugan and Falsworth echoed. Morita growled at them.

"Fuck you both," the man snapped. Dugan shrugged his shoulders, uncaring.

"Dugan, you're on the floor tonight," Steve ordered, having noted the man's uncaring attitude toward a fellow unit member. Dugan's eyes widened.

"You can't-"

"The hell I can't. Morita gets your bed and you sleep on the floor. As for us, I'm taking the floor and Clint gets my bed."

"I already said, no!" Clint growled, shifting a bit to lean closer to the Captain. The other Commandos looked to Bucky in surprise. Bucky was frowning now. Why did Clint want the floor so fucking bad? Steve sighed, now setting his own feet down. Clint narrowed his eyes.

"As your Captain, I am ordering you to give up the floor and sleep in a god damn bed," Steve snarled. Clint moved to get in the guy's face, lifting himself halfway out of his chair. Steve wasn't going to win this one with him.

"I ain't gonna listen to this order, _Captain_," Clint called, making sure to make the Captain as disrespectful as possible. The room went quiet. This was the first time any of them had gotten into a real verbal scuffle with Steve. Most times Bucky and Clint only faked argued with Steve. For a moment, Clint wasn't sure what Steve was gonna do. In the future, Steve would just let out a frustrated cry and storm off to sulk, or beat up the villains of the week much harder than before. But right now, there was no way he could do either of those.

"You wanna repeat that," Steve threatened, getting up himself to move a bit closer. Clint's eyes narrowed even more. He wasn't going to back down. While Steve may be larger, stronger and a bit faster, Clint had handled himself well during training in the future, even if he was mostly certain that Steve held his strength back a bit.

"I ain't gonna listen," Clint replied. Steve grabbed the archer by his shirt collar, making the archer give a soft yelp of surprise, and then he proceeded to drag Clint out of the hotel. The Commandos behind them called out and chased after them as a feeling of shock flooded Clint's system. Okay, maybe a bad idea to piss Steve off. Once on the street, Steve let go of Clint, pushing him a bit away. Clint recovered quickly and looked back angrily at the Captain. In for a penny... "What? You wanna fight?"

"If that means you'll listen," Steve cried. Clint smirked, okay. Steve was going to take this seriously. They both knew what was going to happen after this. Steve had gotten battle training but didn't have very good solo fighting training. Course, Steve didn't know about all of Clint's training. Clint would totally be able to take him, super soldier serum or not.

"Fine, you win, I'll give up the floor. I win, you fucking drop it for the rest of the time we're here," Clint bargained.

* * *

**How is everyone's quarantine going? Mine has actually been rather difficult. I constantly want to write but if it's not people all around talking to me and distracting me then it's me being so stupidly tired that I can't think! If this story had been earlier in the series that I have found myself writing, I probably update more often then a week. But, I can't. Need to make sure I stay ahead.**

**Darius has been enjoying tablet time like every day. Best way to keep him quiet and entertained while hubby is busy and I'm trying to write. Feel bad though, I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with him cause I wake up at like seven in the morning and he won't wake up until ten. Then, by like one I need to go nap and I tend to nap till like five, eat dinner and then go to bed for the night. Ugh. Course the one time I did decide I was going to force myself to stay awake at night, Darius very loudly and partially rude called 'You're still here?' Yeah. Wasn't a nice feeling.**

**Baby Jason ended up going to the hospital this week due to fever, vomiting, and overall not acting like himself. Ended up that he caught viral meningitis. Partly ironic for me as the story I am posting on Archive is the one where Clint is sick. With meningitis. Hmm... If this keeps happening, I wonder if it's possible for me to travel back in time? Lol.**

**If my French translations are wrong, I apologize. I understand that google translate is not very good with sticking to the proper way of saying things. But, I never learned French. I learned Spanish... And I can hardly remember a second of it, lol. Well, until next time!**


	8. Fight and Injury

CHAPTER 8 - Fight and Injury

"Clint," Bucky warned, looking between the two combatants. Even the other Commandos looked a bit worried for Clint's sake. Dugan and Gabe most of all. Bucky seemed to be unable to decide who to be more worried about. "This isn't a good idea."

Clint ignored the others. He hadn't even shown any of them half... No, a quarter of what he could do in a fight. And he sincerely doubted that Steve's fighting style from this time was even close to matching how he fought in the future. With a smile, Steve lunged forward, ready to punch Clint in the jaw. Clint ducked, stepping partly to the side and instead hitting Steve in the ribs with a flat hand. Unbalanced, Steve nearly fell over onto the ground.

"Guys!" Morita said in an attempt to stop this when he realized the duo was serious. Steve spun back to look at Clint, his eyes narrowed as he realized, Clint might actually have some training. He ignored it even as he moved to charge and punch Clint again. Again, Clint ducked it, but this time when he did, Steve switched direction on his punch and tried to elbow Clint in the temple. Without a word, Clint raised both arms up, blocking the move and sliding backwards so it wouldn't hurt or bruise afterwards. A skill Natasha had tried teaching him but Bucky drilled into him. Wait a minute...

"STEVE!" Bucky shouted, making Clint refocus on what Steve was doing. Clint ignored the rest of whatever Bucky said and dug his left foot into the ground and twisted, bringing his right leg up to catch Steve in the back. The force sent Steve a few steps away. With a grunt, Steve tried his own spin kick but Clint just caught the Captain's leg, using Steve's own momentum to twist it around and get Steve to fall face first onto the ground. Without wasting a second, Clint dropped on Steve, his knee on his neck. The whole area fell silent. Watching to see what would happen next.

Steve huffed, pushing himself up lightly but was surprised when Clint kneeled down further, the motion making Steve's face begin to drag on the dirt. He paused, dropping back down to think. After a moment, Steve rolled, twisting away from Clint, moving the archer off his neck and more down to his chest. The archer followed but before Steve could try and move his arms, Clint delivered a well placed and hard punch to Steve's face. Stunned, Steve laid there, staring at Clint as the archer straddled his chest.

"Gonna give?" Clint dared. Steve snorted. He kicked his legs up into the air before slamming his feet down to give himself lift off from the ground. Clint pushed off with his own legs, twisting himself to get his ankles locked in Steve's armpits and as the archer placed his hands on the ground, he pulled with his feet. Again, Steve fell into the dirt, dazed. This time, rather than pinning Steve, Clint backed off. "I can do this all day."

Steve paused, tilting his head to look at Clint as the archer smirked. The Captain figured Clint was either mocking him or just pointing out yet again that he knew Steve from the future. Likely Future-Steve had video footage of his own fighting style. Slowly, Steve got to his feet. Clint put himself in a relaxed but wary stance as Steve sighed and turned to face him.

"Stevie," Bucky snarled. Steve let out a small laugh, eyeing Clint now. Bucky knew that Clint had some training in fighting from the future where as Steve only had the examples he had gotten from getting beat up, or watching Bucky or in movies. There was gonna be no way he could compete. Strength or not.

"Don't know why you wanna keep the floor so bad," Steve admitted, holding a hand out to shake. Clint smirked, moving and taking the hand. For a moment, both men wondered if Steve was going to tighten his hold and attack again but Steve ended up not doing it. They shook and stepped away. "Where did you learn all that anyway?"

"My childhood left a lot of blank room to learn a bunch of different talents. Fighting, acrobatic skills, and shooting skills among them," Clint replied, a blooming smile on his face making sure to sound like his childhood was as happy go lucky as many people thought. Dugan and Bucky frowned, knowing that his childhood wasn't what the archer was making it seem like. "And sides, that isn't anywhere close to what I can do."

* * *

The rest of the week saw the Commandos testing Clint with anything from hitting a bottle cap into someone's drink on the other side of the room, telling tales of his past (mostly about the circus and his missions with S.H.I.E.L.D), and to showing them some fighting moves. Without really thinking about it, Clint began easily teaching Steve and Bucky their own personal style of fighting from what he knew of in the future. It never occurred to him that this was how they learned to fight. The others tended to get just an overall experience that didn't focus much on anything.

Steve was surprised at how useful his shield could end up being. He hadn't used it much to throw at anything yet, but with Clint's guiding, he started trying it out. The rebound on the thing was amazing and fun to calculate as Steve went on. It wasn't long before Clint didn't even have to try and coach the man on the throwing. Instead, Clint focused on using it to throw, catch and block within seconds of each other. Distantly, he kept finding himself wonder if Steve had learned all this from the archer himself. Or had Steve figured it out on his own in a different timeline? Damn time travel confusion.

Bucky was a different manner entirely. He already was an amazing shot and since he was the sniper, he hadn't really needed hand to hand combat. But, Clint refused to let the man sit it all out. The archer made mention that any Hydra agent could possibly sneak up on Bucky while the Sergeant was watching the other team member's back. Everyone agreed that Bucky should learn some things. As Clint trained with Bucky, he accidentally found himself making Bucky favor his left arm for defense and offense. Thankfully, no one mentioned it, if they even noticed. Which was doubtful.

During one particular training moment, Peggy had come by to check on everyone. Clint was fighting Steve once again and at the sight of the agent, Steve had stilled. As an assassin, Clint couldn't help but take advantage of the moment and harshly tossed Steve to the ground. Peggy snorted before clapping. Clint spun. He hadn't realized she was actually watching, never mind actually being there. His spy skills sucked lately. Natasha would murder him. If Future Bucky didn't get a hold of the archer himself.

"Bravo, gentlemen," Peggy praised. Clint moved away, wanting to hide. But Peggy's attention was more on Clint than on Steve. Then she turned to look at the rest of the Commandos, who had stopped fighting now and instead watched the woman. "Where did you learn all this?"

"From Corporal Barton, ma'am," Falsworth answered, nodding in Clint's direction. Clint winced before rubbing a hand against the back of his neck.

"Childhood wasn't particularly normal," Clint admitted. And while it was true, Clint had to be careful with what he told people. No need to let them know everything. In fact, he really shouldn't have told Steve and Bucky the very edited versions of his life from when they knew him.

"Well, that is... Interesting to hear," Peggy said, hesitating on the word she needed. Then she nodded, getting herself back on track. "Colonel Phillips would like a word with you, Captain Rogers."

"Yup, okay," Steve called, quickly getting to his feet and trying to wipe the dirt off of himself. Peggy rolled her eyes before turning on her heel and walking away. Steve meekly followed. Bucky and Clint traded a look before busting out laughing. The other Commandos ignored it, getting used to the trio knowing 'hidden' secrets about each other. An hour or so later, Steve triumphantly walked through the doors of the hotel. Everyone turned to stare at him, surprised. "Gentlemen, we are headed to Bastonge tomorrow."

A general cheer rose up through the Commandos. They were all itching for an actual fight soon and were getting sick of waiting for a supply drop before they could move. But now, the drop had happened and they were to be on the move. That night, the group (sans Steve) got 'drunk' and 'partied' into the night. Steve just watched over all of them with a smile before getting them to the hotel when it started getting too late.

"Captain Killjoy," Clint muttered the moment Steve suggested they head to the hotel. The archer made sure to intentionally slur his words a bit so that no one suspected anything. He reached for his glass, swirling the half filled liquid around. Steve blushed as Bucky and Dugan cracked up laughing.

"Il devrait se saouler avec nous," Dernier argued. Gabe answered this time and Dernier winced. "Pardon." (He should get drunk with us) (Sorry)

"Come on guys, we have to go in the morning. Do you want to do it hungover?" Steve questioned. Clint and Dugan traded looks before looking back to Steve.

"Yes," they retorted, even if Clint actually really didn't want too. Hell, he would never allow himself to get drunk enough to have a hangover. Well, unless Natasha was involved. She always found a way to nicely get him to keep drinking until he could hardly think straight.

"You're right Rogers. I'm gonna head to BED," Morita reported, making sure the 'bed' was said loudly. Falsworth chuckled rapidly getting what Morita was saying. It was supposed to be Morita's turn to lay on the floor but if Dugan didn't pay attention, he was going to be on the floor. Cause Falsworth sure as heck wasn't going to give up his bed for more beer.

"Yeah, BED sounds nice," the man added. Dugan took a moment before realizing what his friends/roommates were saying.

"Ah, hell no! Morita it's your turn tonight!" Dugan cried, the trio getting up and rushing off to the hotel. Gabe and Dernier said their own good nights, leaving Clint, Steve and Bucky.

"I'll take the floor if you don't get moving," Steve threatened. Clint glanced down at his drink before looking to Steve.

"You gotta have a better argument then that. Cause that, ain't gonna work tonight. A bed sounds great," Clint replied the slur leaving him just a bit now that everyone else was gone. Steve took a moment before snorting. Bucky frowned, carefully watching Clint. With everyone else gone, Bucky could see a change in Clint's body language.

"That's all it would have taken to get you on a bed? Getting you drunk?" Steve laughed. Clint smirked before Bucky tilted forward. He had begun to think he figured out what happened.

"You ain't drunk, are ya?" the Sergeant wondered. Bucky had long since began sipping at his own drink, knowing that Steve would be ruthless with him if he drank himself stupid. So, he was of enough sound mind to notice this. Clint stiffened. "How'd ya manage that?"

"This is only my second glass," Clint admitted, lifting it a bit into the air, dropping all pretenses of being drunk. If Clint took a moment to really think about it, he likely would have noticed that he didn't even have a slight buzz going on like he normally would on two glasses. Instead, he was stone cold sober. Steve and Bucky furrowed their brows. They had seen at least six being delivered to the archer. Clint shrugged. "Whenever Dugan needed a refill, I'd slip him mine."

"Huh, how did I not notice that?" Steve asked. Clint sighed, looking away from the duo, his mind flashing toward his early childhood. Drinking always caused Clint to remember the old man. Typically it took about two drinks to think about it but there were some attempts that it took nearly half a glass. Really depended on the alcohol level in whatever he drank.

"You okay?" Bucky questioned. Clint snorted out a laugh. Talking about his father wasn't going to change the future. Steve would have still been frozen and Bucky likely wouldn't have remembered this conversation even if Hydra hadn't got a hold of him.

"My dad was an abusive drunk. I... I don't wanna end up like him," Clint whispered. Steve and Bucky winced.

"I'm sorry," Steve murmured. Clint huffed, draining his glass in one shot before getting to his feet.

"I'll see you guys at the room."

* * *

Belgium was a shit show. Since the attack on the facility in France, Hydra was now on guard. They made it to the doors and Steve kicked it open, everyone opening fire behind him. Just like in France. But this time, Hydra was pretty ready for a fight and Gabe and Clint got clipped with bullets. Clint also ended up getting a minor concussion when a grenade went off near him and tossed him into a wall.

"You've got-" Morita began with Clint carefully watching his mouth. Somehow the blast had done something to his hearing aids. Must not have been a normal grenade. Given it came from Hydra, Clint wouldn't have been all that surprised.

"A concussion, I know," Clint slurred, waving Morita away. He didn't want to guy to get too close or become too worried. Clint had also secretly been hiding a small stomach ache that had been getting slightly worse. He knew it was a simple stomach bug. Something he'd be over in a few more days. As for the concussion, he should be good by the time they get back to camp. Hopefully. "Had enough of 'em to know."

"That's not as comforting as you think it sounds," Gabe pointed out but Clint hadn't seen it. Instead the archer shifted away from Morita once again, pulling on the wound in his side. He tried not to wince but it did slip out. Morita checked on that as well. It was deeper than the shot Clint had gotten hit with when protecting Josh but still not as bad as it could be. Gabe's wound hardly looked like the bullet hit him, outside of a minor graze and traces of blood. He'd be scabbed over by night. Clint turned to look at the duo before he noticed their eyes widening and then he felt the ground vibrate. He spun around to see the remnants of an explosion.

"Aw, man. I missed it," the archer called. Gabe and Morita laughed at him. Clint thunked his head against the tree Morita had leaned him on. He had briefly forgotten his head injury but once he connected, it sure as hell informed him it was still there. Morita stared at the archer for a moment before shaking his head.

"Thought you had a bunch of concussions," Morita joked but frowned when the archer didn't respond at all. A moment later, Steve jogged up to them. The movement had Clint looked over at him and focus on the man's lips.

"They okay?" the Captain wondered. Clint could tell that Steve was only seconds from 'mother-henning' Gabe and himself. To make sure it didn't happen, he let out a loud and noticeably faked moan of pain.

"I'm dying! It hurts so much!" the archer 'pitifully' whined. Steve chuckled as the rest of the Commandos jogged up. Bucky and Dugan gave him a very unimpressed look that Clint missed when the archer closed his eyes. "My world is graying out! I can't see! This is it! It's the end for me!"

"Oh shove it, Barton," Dugan grumbled but Clint continued to let out a moan of pain. It took a moment before Clint noticed everyone was looking at him and he stopped.

"What?" he wondered. The group traded looks before Bucky focused on him.

"_You sure you're okay?_" Bucky asked, making sure he actually didn't make a sound. Clint frowned. There was no need to make a big deal out of things.

"I'm fine," the archer argued. Bucky's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Clint's face scrunched up a bit as he looked around at everyone else. They all looked surprised as well. It was then he realized what had happened. "You didn't say that out loud... Did you?"

"What the hell!" Bucky cried. Clint ignored him and looked to the ground, his hand coming up to touch the area behind his ear. He fiddled with something. After a moment, Morita came over. When he touched the archer, Clint jumped, jerking his head to look at the man.

"Can I see?" Morita questioned as soon as he spotted Clint's eyes focusing on his lips. Clint frowned again before sighing and twisting his head a bit to show them all the scars from his implanted hearing aids. Morita gently explored them as if they were brand new injuries even though it was clear the scars were years old. He backed away and Clint focused on him. After a second, Morita turned away and Clint could tell he was saying something to someone. Clint looked up and noticed Steve was looking at him.

"What are the scars for?" the Captain asked. Clint sighed, looking to the ground. When he didn't reply, someone touched his shoulder. He jerked up and noticed Bucky was kneeling in front of him with a concerned look.

"Look, give me maybe another ten minutes or something and I'll tell ya everything," the archer grumbled before getting to his feet and walking off, being certain to not look at anyone. The first one to join him was Bucky, who walked on Clint's right. Steve moved to Clint's left after that and somehow the archer knew that Dugan was right behind him. The others fell into line behind them. As Clint guessed, ten minutes later, he heard a pop that made him wince and stop. With a sigh, he snapped a finger by his ear. When he heard the sound, he looked to Bucky who was staring at him curiously.

"You good to explain now?" the Sergeant inquired. Clint nodded before turning to the others.

"I'm... I'm eighty percent deaf in both ears," he admitted. The group gave a rather loud cry of alarm at that. Clint waved a hand up to stop them.

"How did you slip through the cracks? Being deaf is an automatic 4F!" Dugan cried. Clint glanced to Steve quickly, knowing that out of everyone, he'd know. The Captain winced, automatically knowing what happened.

"Erskine?" the Captain wondered. Clint nodded. Not that Clint would think Erskine would let it drop. The man would likely force him to still go to war.

"Who's Erskine?" Gabe called.

"Erskine is the man who created the serum that made me like this," Steve informed the others before focusing on Clint. "But, I don't understand. Why?"

"I don't know why Erskine did what he did. Hell, I wasn't even really tested for shit before they handed me papers," Clint replied, frustration leaking into his voice. He was still ticked off about what the doctor had done. If it wasn't for him, Clint could have been with another unit. Wouldn't have... He wouldn't have been with Bucky or Steve. Hell, maybe it was a good thing Erskine did what he did. Even if it sucked.

"That doesn't sound right," Morita hissed. Clint shrugged. There wasn't anything he could do to change the past. Well, that past.

"So, what's up with the ears. You've never had issues hearing us before," Dugan pointed out.

"The grenade hit closer to me than normal. Blew out my aids." Or so Clint suspected.

"You shouldn't have continued fighting like that," Steve scolded, knowing the grenade had happened long before the archer got shot. Clint growled, glaring at the Captain. There was no way in hell that his hearing disability was going to make him turn into a fucking damsel in distress. He could handle himself just fine.

"I've done more with worse than this," Clint mentioned, waving a hand down to his wound. Steve eyes narrowed.

"Stevie, he ran like seven miles through the woods with a decent sized hit to the opposite side, while he kept turning around shooting enemies. I think he knows his limits," Bucky informed. Clint nodded, a small smile on his face that at least someone was willing to defend him.

"Didn't even wanna tell us. Only reason we knew was cause we heard him cry out when he got hit. Even tried to avoid getting checked out for a bit," Dugan added. Steve's looked turned dangerous. Clint huffed. This was something he was used to. Still sucked just as much as it did before... Or will? Whatever.

"I can handle myself. Hell, I could still kick your ass," Clint snapped moving as if to threaten the Captain. Morita jumped forward, grabbing onto Clint as if the archer was gonna get himself killed.

"Calm down," Falsworth said, moving to get between Clint and Steve as well. "We don't need to fight right now. We just took down a base and who knows if there are more of those fucks out here."

"Fine, whatever," Clint snarled before yanking his arm from Morita and storming away. Steve let out his own frustrated growl and followed after. The others all traded looks.

"That boy's gonna get himself killed," Gabe muttered.

"And likely not from Hydra," Morita continued.

* * *

The walk back to camp was tense as all hell. Steve kept glaring at Clint as if the archer had personally offended him. Clint refused to even acknowledge the Captain. Bucky tried to mediate between his two friends. Dugan... Well, he smartly stayed far away from the whole thing. Morita stayed as close to Clint as he could considering the archer kept growling at him. Dernier, Gabe and Falsworth just trailed behind them all wondering when the infighting was going to stop.

"Barton!" Steve demanded as soon as they entered camp. Clint flipped him off but altered his course to head to the medical area. Steve huffed and said nothing more, heading off for the Colonel's tent. Bucky sulked after the Captain even as Morita headed after Clint.

"What do we do now?" Falsworth wondered once the four had gotten out of earshot.

"Head back to our tents and wait for this whole shit storm to end," Dugan suggested. And that was what the four did. Steve and Bucky ended up being the first to return to the tent maybe thirty minutes later.

"Barton?" Steve questioned after a quick look over the group.

"Guessing still with the medic," Gabe replied. Steve huffed and turned back around to leave but this time Bucky placed a hand on the Captain's chest.

"Morita is with him. It will be fine," Bucky mentioned. Steve's face contorted in anger for a moment before relaxing and heading further into the tent to sit on his cot. Bucky sighed and headed to sit on the bunk across from him. It was set to be Clint's bunk considering Dugan had tossed the archer's bag onto it. "Clint knows how to take care of himself. He doesn't need all this babying."

"Ironic coming from you," Steve grumbled in a playful tone. Bucky snorted.

"I get that. And you know how it feels to be in Clint's shoes. It wasn't all that good a feeling, was it?" Bucky wondered. Steve grimaced. "Yeah, Clint's a big boy. Let him take care of himself."

"Jerk," Steve murmured. Bucky chuckled, reaching forward to hug his friend.

"Punk," the Sergeant whispered.

"So, Barton is going to be spending the night in the medic ward," Morita reported as soon as he entered the tent. "They just wanna watch him for complications with his concussion. Barton disagrees with their opinion so... Don't be surprised if we wake up and he's here."

"I'll go-" Steve started, moving to get up. Bucky placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him down. Thankfully Steve took it and sat on his bed again.

"You'll leave him alone. Dugan and I can go convince him to stay," Bucky informed.

"Dugan will what?" Dugan asked, looking up from his spot. Bucky turned and gave the man a small glare. Dugan sighed. "Dugan will help check on Barton."

With a nod, Bucky and Dugan got up and headed out of the tent. When they got outside, Dugan looked to Bucky with a curious gaze. Bucky shook his head and headed over to the medical tent. They got to the tent just in time to see Clint trying to sneak out the back. Bucky groaned. Of course the idiot would try and run. But, where was he going to run too? Steve would have turned him back to medical if the archer headed to their tent. And while Clint technically could go out and risk hurting himself more by shooting, where would he stay for the night?

"Barton!" Bucky snapped, worried now that Clint was going to risk injury to go shoot. Clint froze before slowly turning back around with a faux smile. A hand shifted up to rub at the back of his neck. Dugan snorted.

"Hey, Buck," Clint tried to cheerfully call even as he took a step toward the back of the tent again. The medics looked up at the sight and just shook their heads. They were a bit sick of dealing with Clint. If the man wanted to leave and risk dying from complications, they... Well, they would care, but it wouldn't be their fault. Still, they had to do everything in their power to keep an injured man in the tent for healing.

"We're about to cuff him to the bed," one of them warned Bucky and Dugan with an unimpressed glare at Clint. Clint gave Bucky a gigantic smile when the man glared at him. The archer was not going to feel bad. He knew what he could handle. Now that the medics had checked him over, cleaned the wound, stitched it up, and bandaged it, Clint was good.

"You'll be wastin' your time," Dugan informed with a small smile. Clint chuckled, bringing a hand up to his neck. "Guy can likely pick the lock in two minutes."

"Ten seconds, actually. Hadn't done it in a while back there and the locks were different than what I'm used to," Clint replied. Everyone in the tent turned to look at him surprised. Clint shrugged. Again, no one really knew everything about him.

"No offense, but can we test that?" one of the injured troop men in the tent questioned. Clint glanced to him. "Hey, best entertainment I'd have in three days."

"Sure, want hands locked together or hands on either side of the bed?" Clint retorted.

"You have a concussion," a medic needlessly pointed out. Clint smirked.

"I've done it blind, with three fingers broken, and nearly mad out of my mind once before. I can do it with a concussion," Clint snapped. Bucky and Dugan raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing for a moment. Dude got injured far more often than either of them realized. It was amazing the archer was still alive. And that's without them knowing the whole Barton Experience.

"Bed, arms separate," Dugan finally demanded, curious. Clint chuckled before heading over to one of the cots. He laid down and waited. With a nod from Bucky a medic headed over with a set of four cuffs intent on doing hands and legs. Clint smirked. He stayed still as the guy locked him in place. The medic started with his hands and as he shifted to the archer's feet, the medic got one foot in but Clint was already sitting up and watching them. There was a gaggle of laughter as the medic stared on the last foot before he turned to see Clint staring at him.

"Hi there," Clint greeted, handing over the cuffs he had already removed and leaned further to undo his foot before the man could even process what just happened. Then Clint added the other cuffs to his hand and stood up. "Wanna go again?"

"Uh..." the medic replied, unsure exactly what had just happened. Clint smirked, knowing that the medic wasn't going to be able to help, and grabbed the four before heading over to Bucky. Might as well keep up with the show.

"Get them, all of them, on my wrists," Clint dared. Bucky rolled his eyes but complied as quickly as possible. Clint smirked and turned around twice, already free from all four. How he did it so fast, no one knew except Clint. Bucky hadn't tightened the cuffs enough, so dislocating his thumbs was the best way to escape. If the Sergeant had tightened them a bit more, Clint would have had to take at least four more spins to be free. And that was if he had some type of lock pick. Which he did.

"Holy crap man!" someone cried.

"The Amazing Barton, be here... Well, will be around," Clint introduced with a bow. Bucky chuckled as Clint stood back up. He hid his wince as best as possible considering the bow twinged his wound.

"You shouldn't have done that," a medic informed, coming over to check on Clint's bullet wound. Clint danced away. Yeah, it was stupid. But he could tell the wound was fine. Though, Natasha would have smacked the back of his head and called him a Идиот. Hell, Bucky and Steve might have done it too. (Idiot)

"I'm fine," the archer reported. Dugan grabbed the archer's arm, holding him still.

"For our sake, please let the man check," Dugan begged. Clint huffed but lifted his shirt to show that there wasn't even any blood on the cloth that covered the wound.

"See, fine," Clint retorted with a little bit of heat behind it. The medic nodded before looking to Bucky and Dugan.

"Make sure he rests and check him for loss of memory-"

"Nausea, vomiting, slurred speech and confusion," Clint properly listed. The medic paused at that. Clint shrugged. "Not my first rodeo."

"Not as reassuring as you think that is," Dugan mumbled.

* * *

The next morning everyone woke early except for Clint. At first no one thought anything of it but when it hit lunch time and Clint still hadn't woken, Bucky and Dugan knew something was wrong. They headed over and looked over the archer. Their nerves had the others sitting around as well. Morita kept checking the archer's stats as best he could. None of them wanted to bring him to the medical tent just in case they were blowing it out of proportion. Maybe Clint was just tired. Hell, they all were a bit tired. Steve met them there after a quick meeting to get permission to move on.

"We're gonna be leav... What's going on?" Steve wondered, pausing when he noticed everyone looking over Clint.

"He hasn't woken up yet," Bucky informed. Steve frowned.

"I think I'm gonna try and wake him now," Morita told them before leaning forward. Inches away from touching Clint, the archer jerked awake with a loud gasp. The group jumped in shock. "Jesus, Barton. You okay?"

Clint's attention snapped to see everyone staring at him. He felt like crap. Not anything he couldn't hide or anything but still one of those things that it was steadily getting worse. The gun shot to his gut had to be making things worse. "Hmm? What?"

"Dude, you okay?" Dugan asked. Clint nodded. "You missed breakfast. And lunch."

"Wait? Seriously? No wonder why I'm hungry," Clint joked, shifting to get off his cot but as he twisted, he winced. Morita pushed gently at him.

"What's going on?" the medic questioned. Clint shook him off.

"I'm fine," the archer insisted. Beside him, out of view, Bucky leaned forward and gently pressed at the wound from before. Clint yelped in surprise, jumping away before paling suddenly. There was half a second for people to connect what that meant before Clint curled over and dry heaved onto the ground.

"Jesus, fuck, Barton!" Morita cried, looking the archer over. Clint shook him off.

"I'm fine," the archer insisted. "It's nothing."

"Clint," Steve growled. Clint looked to him.

"I'm fine. Just a small stomach bug. Nothing to worry about, I promise. The... The bullet just aggravated it for a bit," Clint attempted. Bucky moved forward.

"Clint," he tried. Clint winced. "What is going on?"

Clint shook his head. He didn't want to talk about it. Bucky and Steve both leveled him with a glare. Clint huffed. "I haven't been feeling all that good for about a week."

"A week! Clint!" Steve nearly shouted. Clint sighed and looked to the ground.

"It's nothing. I promise. Not an issue. I'll be fine in a day or so," Clint insisted. Steve leveled him with a glare. Feeling it, Clint looked up at him. "I'll be fine."

"We are staying here until you aren't sick anymore," Steve hissed. Clint opened his mouth to protest but Steve raised a hand. "Be glad I don't drag your ass to the med tent to have them watch you while we go on."

Clint pouted but listened. For the most part.

* * *

**How is everyone's quarantine going? Mine is going _great_! Just found out my cruise got canceled. At least I can get the money in full back. Not that we weren't going to cancel it in the first place, lol. Currently sitting here with noise canceling headphones cause I'm getting _far_ too distracted by everyone being home. It's killing me.**

**Darius is doing good. Still loves everyone being home. Getting upset with me though cause I keep going to bed at like seven. But that's cause I get up at like six or seven in the morning while he won't get up till around noon. If he wants more time with me, he should wake up earlier, lol. He's also been on this extreme Ghostbusters kick. Apparently we have like fifty ghosts in the house. An hour. *sigh* At least he has been having fun.**


	9. Battles and Secrets

CHAPTER 9 - Battles and Secrets

Clint's 'minor' bullet wound healed faster than his stomach bug which was a surprise to most of the Commandos. It especially didn't help that the archer wouldn't rest. Often times it was Bucky, Dugan or Gabe dragging him back into their tent. They typically found him on the outskirts of camp, shooting his bow. In the end, it took an extra two weeks before the Commandos found themselves in Czechoslovakia. Hydra seemed better prepared for them here. The group ran through the woods, shooting like crazy and dodging explosions left and right. Steve led the way with Dugan and Gabe on his right. Bucky, Clint, and Falsworth were further off on Steve's left. Morita and Dernier carried the back end, making sure no one surrounded them.

A bunch of regiments of troops followed in their wake, making sure to protect the Commando's backs, even if they didn't really need it. Getting to the base ended up being rather simple once they got past all the Hydra agents. Blowing up their various tanks was the main part of the fun. Clint enjoyed that part immensely. His joy was shared with Dernier.

"They're headed around us!" Bucky shouted as loud as he could, hoping that someone could hear him. Clint looked over and noticed what the Sergeant had seen. Muttering another quick protection spell on everyone, Clint continued with his assault. There was no way Hydra was gonna win this battle. A moment later, he was nearly out of ammo. He glanced around, noting that Bucky was the only one with sight lines on him. Grunting, Clint pulled out Izril, casted the spell for arrows and started shooting like mad. As he passed by his arrows, he muttered the vanishing spell while still keeping his other spell up. Something Loki had yet to teach him but with all the practice of keeping his draining ability down while still doing spells, it wasn't all that hard to mix it over, especially seeing as he didn't have to keep the draining spell up anymore.

And after maybe a half hour or so more of fighting, a collection of Hydra agents turned themselves in. Clint was half tempted to shoot them all on sight but Colonel Hayes (the newest leader of the closest base) had claimed he wanted to speak to a bunch of them. Why, Clint had no real idea. It wasn't like the agents were really privy to what Hydra was doing. And he doubted any of them had locations for the other bases seeing as Hydra started moving around a lot.

Clint headed off, leaving behind the regiments of soldiers that had followed the Commandos to search the rest of the site and get ready to blow it sky high. He was wandering off to the backside of the place when something caught his attention. A sheet of paper that had been removed from the base had scattered on the ground. Heading over to it, Clint looked down. While his German reading wasn't all that great, Clint could get the general location and time that a Hydra procession was going to happen. Clint smiled, running back to get Dernier.

"Veulent aller faire sauter un camion-citerne jusqu'à?" Clint asked the Frenchman once he found him. Dernier instantly had the biggest smile on his face and nodded. With a smirk, Clint went and gathered the other Commandos. If that vehicle got close enough to see the base, they'd likely turn tail and hide. But, if they could get out there and catch it before hand, well... (Want to blow up a tanker truck)

Setting themselves up on the roadside was pretty easy given the information they had. Morita, the fastest one out of all of them, positioned himself closest to the road to get better sight on the vehicles coming toward them. The others waited further behind. Dernier nearly vibrated with excitement. It wasn't long before Morita whistled. Dernier took off.

"Speedy dude when he wants to be," Clint grumbled. Bucky held back his snort as he just watched the Frenchman run onto the road, drop to his side and got himself positioned under the tank like truck before Dernier got run over. With the wheels in the way, no one saw how Dernier attached the bomb but when the tank passed, Dernier slowly stood up and went to blow a kiss. The explosion was pretty epic. Clint whooted as Dernier clapped his hands once and looked over. His pleasure made Dugan laugh.

After that, it wasn't really Hydra bases they went after. One of the other Colonels requested their help on a few of their own missions and they were more than willing to agree. On the second non Hydra related mission the Commandos did, they were stuck in a deep trench. Trapped and waiting on a supply run before they could even escape to the nearest camp. Clint didn't even think much on it, but then he finally saw Steve not doing so good.

"Steve?" the archer wondered. Steve looked up at the archer and smiled.

"I'm okay," the Captain told him. Clint frowned but accepted the answer. Afterwards, he wished he didn't. Steve had warned him once before that at some point he lost three days thanks to lack of food. In a trench for a few days, there wasn't enough food for everyone and secretively, Steve had been giving his rations away to the others.

"Stevie..." Bucky called, shaking his old friend with a frown when they woke up in the morning. Steve didn't even twitch. Something which everyone knew was highly unusual. "Stevie?"

"He won't wake up?" Dugan questioned before heading over and kicking the pads that Steve was resting on. Clint frowned, moving over to check on the solider. He gently smacked Steve's face before paling.

"When was the last time he ate?" the archer asked, looking dead at Bucky. The Sergeant frowned.

"I think... Maybe yesterday, but it was only one MRE," Bucky replied. Clint cussed.

"He needs food," the archer reported. Morita sat up, grabbing some supplies. "We need to figure out a way to get some food in him."

"What do you mean? No man acts like this when hungry," Falsworth pointed out. Clint sighed.

"Steve's system runs four times faster than the rest of us. Means, he runs out of nutrition before us. And it's why he can't get drunk," Clint informed, no one questioning how the archer knew this. Morita shifted forward.

"Here, this should help," the medic called before suddenly stabbing something into Steve's chest. Clint automatically knew what it was. They wouldn't have long. He nabbed the breakfast MRE he had grabbed and put it against Steve's lips so that the second Steve opened his mouth, he forced the bar into the guy to bite down on some. Hardly waking, Steve did so, eating what was in his mouth.

"Jesus. Stevie," Bucky whispered at the sight. Clint continued feeding Steve until the Captain slipped back unconscious.

"We need another way to wake him up so he eats," Clint ordered. Everyone nodded. In the end, it took them nearly three days before they finally got Steve to wake up on his own. For a bit, the Captain was a bit too delirious to really know what was going on. But Bucky and Clint basically hand-fed the guy until he took over himself.

"What happened?" Steve slurred once he was aware enough to notice everyone was staring at him. Clint sighed in relief as Bucky automatically began 'yelling' at Steve for not taking care of his stupid self. As the other Commandos doted over their Captain, Clint couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew about Steve's issue. Why the hell hadn't he thought to do anything to prevent it? But then he paused. Wait... Could Steve have only known that cause Clint handled it? Would the others have figured it out if he wasn't here? But... That would mean that he was on their timeline. And Steve knew...

Clint never was able to talk to Steve about it. Once they had gotten the Captain back on track with food, the supplies finally came in and they were all off to the nearest camp. The next day, it was another mission. It was during this planning that Clint noted reporters on site, recording the Commandos.

"Shit," Clint muttered to himself as he did his best to dance around the reporters. Bucky glanced over at him with a frown but said nothing. He figured it was just due to wanting to hide. As someone from the future, Clint wouldn't want his image saved for all to see. So, he did his best to help keep the reporters busy with Steve and himself. Somehow the others must have noticed as well, so they helped Clint avoid them without question.

"Go over there," Falsworth mumbled, pointing to the back end of the jeep that Steve was bent over with a map. "I'll stand slightly in front of you."

"Thanks," Clint whispered as the duo headed to the back of the jeep to hide. Morita joined them on Clint's other side. Clint sighed deeply in relief and patted Morita's back.

"Okay, so we know what to do?" Steve asked, looking everyone over. The Commandos all nodded their heads but Steve couldn't see Clint. He frowned but before he could draw attention to it, Falsworth and Morita nodded their heads to Clint behind them and while Steve's frown deepened, he didn't mention anything. Splitting up to get ready, Clint was relieved when the reporters followed after Steve.

"You okay?" Gabe wondered, walking toward the trio as Morita and Falsworth backed off to look at the archer they had hidden.

"Avez-vous peur?" Dernier asked. Clint snorted. (Are you scared)

"Pas peur. Famille ne sait pas que je suis ici," Clint retorted. It was technically true. The Avengers likely didn't know what happened to him and if they knew he was sent back in time, there was no way they could know what year he was in or that he was in the war. Though, Steve and Bucky might. Course, considering Steve had known him since 2012, Clint pretty much doubted that he was on the same time line as his future. No use getting himself filmed for the future to see, no matter what future it may be. There hadn't been mention of him before, so there shouldn't be any message now. (Not scared. Family doesn't know I'm here)

"Why doesn't your family know?" Gabe inquired. Clint gave a small grimace as Bucky came over to them.

"Cause you got sent away so fast?" Bucky 'questioned.' Clint glanced over at him before nodding. Thank god for the Sergeant, Clint had no idea what he should have said in this situation. With a smile of thanks, Clint refocused on the others.

"Sent away fast? You seriously didn't go through the six months of training?" Gabe huffed in disbelief. "I thought you were joking."

"Nope," Clint retorted, shaking his head. "Hardly had a chance to process it all before getting onto the bus."

"I still blame Steve for it all," Bucky grumbled. Clint rolled his eyes, looking over to him. The Sergeant raised an eyebrow, waiting to see what Clint was gonna do. When the archer narrowed his eyes, Bucky huffed. "If Steve hadn't been an idiot-"

"Not only would I have likely not met Erskine, but you guys would still be stuck getting tortured," Clint snipped. Bucky rolled his eyes, frustrated.

"He still shouldn't have done it," Bucky sharply reminded. Clint barked a quick laugh.

"You know how bad he wanted to get out here. You seriously going to not only deny his ability to, but also be angered when he finally is able to go through with it?"

"Steve was home safe," Bucky argued.

"And his best friend wasn't. If the roles were reversed, how would you react if Steve came over here?" the archer wondered. Bucky grimaced. Now he could see Clint's point. If he had indeed been in Steve's situation, he would have gone through the experiment in order to get over here and keep Steve safe. Sighing, Bucky caved.

"Fine. We need to go get ready," the Sergeant stated before spinning and walking off. The others trailed after him. It wasn't long before the group had their bags packed and ready to go. They weren't quite ready to leave right away so the group just shouldered their bags and headed off to get a meal. A few minutes into it, Gabe looked up.

"Heads up, Cap is coming. Those reporters still following," the man warned. Clint dropped his plate and stood, snatching his bag off the ground and headed out. Only to run into Peggy Carter. With a small scowl, he shifted out of her way.

"I've noticed you are avoiding the cameras," she called when he nearly stalked past her. He paused and looked to her. Thinking back, Clint frowned.

"Thought you were supposed to be back in New York," he responded. Peggy raised an eyebrow. "Forget it."

"No, I'm curious. Why do you think I should be in New York?" she questioned. Clint winced. Shit, he fucked up again? How did he keep doing this?

"Heard a rumor," Clint lied. Peggy chuckled.

"Don't you know it isn't always safe to trust rumors," she chuckled. Clint stilled for a second before understanding her meaning. He narrowed his eyes at her in slightly humor and embarrassment.

"Ha, ha, ha," he replied before turning to look at Steve speaking with the other Commandos. The reporters had all centered themselves around the Captain, clearly showing that they weren't trying to catch any of the others in their shots. "Not really avoiding so much as not blocking their shots."

"I see," Peggy snorted as she looked over to Steve and the others. Bucky was frowning deeply and glanced up to see the duo watching. Rolling his eyes, the Sergeant broke away from the group, heading over to them. Peggy smiled, turning back to Clint and placing a hand on his shoulder. He had to seriously force himself not to grab her wrist, twist it and then toss her onto the ground in surprise. "If it makes you feel any better, I am going to be off to New York by this evening."

Clint barely had a moment to respond before she spun and left him standing there alone. He was only alone for a second or two before Bucky was at his side. The archer turned to look at the Sergeant. Silently, Bucky nodded his head in Peggy's direction, basically asking if the archer was fine with her. Sighing deeply, Clint nodded. It was fine. At this point he shouldn't be able to fuck up any more worse then this. With that done, they both moved to watch the chaos of Steve trying to speak with the Commandos while the reporters got in his face.

"I'm kinda getting jealous," Bucky muttered after a while. Clint snorted.

"Cause he's getting all the attention?" the archer asked. Bucky huffed.

"Something like that," the Sergeant grumbled.

* * *

They finally caught a break on a Hydra base in late July. It was rather deep in enemy territory but Steve convinced everyone it would be a good idea to parachute in. All but Bucky agreed. Bucky thought the plan was stupid but considering everyone else was gonna go along with it, he might as well too.

In the end, it seemed only Steve really got close to the action. Somehow he had gotten into the camp before any of the others and had done some mighty good damage. Clint easily noted the exoskeletons on some of the agents and grunted. Hydra was getting better with their tech. If it wasn't for Steve having mentioned it in the future, Clint would have thought someone had gotten sent back with him and they started making all these weapons. The battle lasted into the next day and with it came this gigantic tank that nearly had everyone freeze.

"Holy fucking shit," Clint muttered to himself upon the sight of it. Steve nodded his head with a sigh, hitting the nearest Hydra agent aside. Clint turned to look at the Captain 'blindly' shooting four more agents coming up to them. "How ya gonna handle that?"

"Dernier, bombs," Steve ordered before running at the thing and jumping up top. Dernier tossed a vest of bombs to Falsworth, the only one seemingly not bogged down by Hydra agents, who headed over to help as Steve crashed his shield down onto the open seal. Someone came out to attack him and Steve just threw the man out and off the tank. With a whistle from Steve, Falsworth tossed the vest up to the Captain and Steve tossed it inside.

"He doesn't have much longer," Gabe grunted as Steve ran for the front. Behind him the tank began exploding and Steve landed with a 'hump' before running toward the group. Clint and Bucky cheered at the sight. After that, many of the Hydra agents began chomping down on their cyanide teeth. Clint huffed at the sight.

"Cowards," he grumbled.

"Search the area, make sure everyone is dead," Steve demanded, heading off on his own. "Dernier, set up the bombs. Let's make sure no one can come back."

Fighting with the Commandos in various battles, Clint was really beginning to feel like he was part of the family. It wasn't long before all of them were trading stories back and forth about different things. In fact, Clint actually found himself telling Steve a lot more details about the crap they had gone through together. Like the Battle of Manhattan, getting turned in a bird and a kid, and changing minds. Course, he'd always just say it was a story with the characters based on real people. Not that anyone really believed in aliens and stuff. Clint was careful with which stories he ended up talking about that involved Future Steve and certainly Future Bucky. In doing all this, he had almost began to forget what was coming. All the way up until he heard what was coming.

"We're aiming to capturing Arnim Zola," Colonel Phillips stated in the war room. Clint paled, praying that Bucky or Steve didn't notice. He couldn't stop this event... Couldn't try and save Bucky. God, he wanted to. He really did. But if he did, Steve might not have crashed the _Valkyrie_ and then neither of them would end up in the future. And if he didn't... Would Bucky blame him for all those years under Hydra's control?

"Clint?" Steve's voice broke through. Clint hummed, looking to the Captain. The Commandos all chuckled as Steve rolled his eyes. Clint mentally winced. Apparently Steve had been talking about him doing something. "You okay to come on the train with Gabe, Bucky and myself?"

"Yeah," Clint croaked. Steve and Bucky frowned. This was something they hadn't heard from Clint before and it certainly didn't sound good. If it was anyone else, they'd just figure Clint was nervous about doing it... But knowing Clint, they figured something bad was gonna happen.

"Okay then. The train will be passing by within a day or two, go get prepared gentlemen," Phillips ordered. Once the meeting broke up, Clint slipped out of the room, not wanting to talk to anyone. Unfortunately for him, Bucky followed. Bucky waited till they were outside and a good distance away before reaching forward and grabbing Clint by the arm. Clint just barely held himself back from spinning and attacking the Sergeant. But Bucky did force him to turn around.

"Clint, are you okay?" Bucky asked. Clint stiffly shook his head, making sure to not look Bucky in the eye. Bucky grabbed Clint by the chin to force to archer to look at him. "Clint?"

"Buck, it's nothing," Clint snapped, pushing the man off of him. Bucky's frown deepened.

"Something's up. You've never acted like this. Not during the whole time I've been fighting beside you. It wasn't even like this before Azzano. What is going on?" Bucky demanded. Clint winced, focusing on Bucky with pleading eyes. Bucky's eyes widened. "Someone's gonna-"

"Bucky, please," Clint whined. "I can't tell you anything. Don't guess, please."

"But-"

"Bucky, I'm sorry but... This needs to happen. Trust me, I wanna change this... But," Clint whimpered. There was a long moment before the Sergeant understood. Bucky sighed, pulling Clint into a hug, worried about the archer even more now. Wouldn't do either of them any good to worry about what was gonna happen during the whole mission.

"It's fine. I understand," the Sergeant whispered. And Bucky did understand. Just like he understood at Azzano. Clint let out a gulping sob before folding into Bucky's hug much deeper. Bucky silently held Clint as the archer cried it out for a little while. When Clint was done, he released Bucky.

"I'm sorry," Clint softly said unsure if it was about the train falling or the seventy years of suffering that the Sergeant was going to go through. Bucky shook his head.

"We shouldn't have been guessing as much as we have. And we certainly shouldn't have been learning as much as we have," Bucky soothed. Clint let out a wet chuckle. Bucky sighed. "It's fine. We'll... We'll do what we're supposed to."

"I'm-"

"Don't be. To you, this already happened. We can't change it without changing the future. It's fine," Bucky called, his voice a bit sharper than he intended. Clint nodded as Steve came over to them.

"You two okay?" Steve wondered. Clint looked away from Steve, not saying anything. Bucky just shook his head. Steve sighed. "Okay, well, Clint, do you know the plan?"

"Wait till the train gets close, rappel down onto the train, get in, find Zola and bring him in," Clint reported. Steve frowned. He was certain that Clint hadn't been paying attention. But then again, he shouldn't be surprised. Bucky sighed.

"Stevie, can I talk to you?" Bucky asked. Steve nodded and the duo walked away. Clint let out another soft sob before heading out of the camp. Dugan, Falsworth, Gabe, Dernier and Morita came out just in time to see the archer leaving. With a confused frown, Dugan headed off to follow him. Neither man noticed the other four coming as well.

When Clint figured he was far enough away from the camp to not get noticed, the archer called up Izril. As it fell gently into his hand, Clint felt himself start to relax a bit. He missed firing his bow every day. Using guns had never been as pleasing for Clint as his bow. And while he used Izril a lot before Azzano, Clint didn't feel comfortable to practice after Peggy had found him. The Commandos had gotten so close to each other that finding any time to yourself was near impossible. So Clint hadn't been able to shoot.

Sighing deeply and calming himself, Clint lifted the bow and whispered the spell before firing. It had been far too long since he last fired his bow and it was as soothing as it normally was. Clint was maybe seven arrows into it when he felt someone watching him. He spun, getting ready to fire before seeing it was Dugan.

"Dude, I could have shot you," the archer snapped. Dugan shrugged, not the least bit concerned.

"I trust you," the man said. Clint huffed, shaking his head. At least Dugan already knew about his magic.

"Wow... Where did you get that from?" Morita questioned as the others appeared. Dugan jumped, surprised. Clint tensed. Should he get rid of it? Just put it away or hold onto it until they leave him alone? "Pretty sure no one asked for a bow."

"Uh," Dugan muttered, turning to look at Clint. The archer sighed before giving in. Forget the others, he needed to shoot. He turned around and began shooting again. Wasn't like he couldn't fuck with history anymore then he may have already. He just... Clint just assumed all he had to do was make sure Bucky fell from the train. That was the most important event. God did he wish he could though.

"Is... Are they appearing from nothing?" Falsworth gasped. Dugan chuckled.

"Kinda cool, isn't it?" the man told the others. They all watched Clint shoot for maybe ten minutes or more before they were joined by someone else. Clint ignored it and continued.

"He could have done this the whole time?" Steve's voice interrupted Clint's concentration. The spell vanished as the archer turned to look at the Captain with wide eyes.

"Steve," the archer stuttered. Steve looked to Clint with a confused smile. "I... I..."

"Guess you didn't want anyone to know?" Steve wondered. Clint gulped, looking briefly to Bucky, Dugan and Gabe.

"I..."

"Bucky, Gabe and I already knew," Dugan admitted. Steve looked to the trio confused.

"And you didn't tell us?" Morita complained. Dugan shrugged.

"Ain't our secret to tell," the man retorted. Clint winced.

"It's kinda cool," Falsworth pointed out. "Can... Can you tell us how you did it?"

"Uh..." Clint mumbled, unsure what to do about this.

"Magic," Bucky informed. Clint's eyes flicked to him again. Bucky shrugged. "Gonna have to explain it to them anyway."

"Yeah," Clint finally stated, nodding. With a sigh, Clint muttered his spell again and drew his bow back. With full view now, everyone saw as the arrow just appeared as if from the air itself. "The bow itself isn't the magic I do. It can appear and disappear when I need it or finish using it. The arrows are the spell. I... Honestly I don't really know how the spell works... I just say a few words, concentrate and the arrows appear."

"And you can make them disappear," Bucky pointed out. Clint huffed but nodded, turning to the tree he had used as a target and muttered the other spell. Instantly the arrows vanished.

"Holy-" Morita started. Clint gave him a weak smile. "Anything else you can do?"

"Uh... Not anything visible," Clint informed.

"You mean that protection spell thingy?" Dugan wondered. Clint nodded.

"I haven't been trained in a lot of magic spells before and the other few spells I know don't always seem to work as I want them too. Rather not do them until I'm certain I can get them right," Clint mentioned. "Lo..." Clint hesitated here. There was no way he could admit that Loki was his teacher. Everyone had to have known about the Norse 'God.' Clint wasn't going to risk changing that. "My teacher is able to reverse the spell if I mess it up so without him, I don't feel safe doing them."

"That's fine. We don't need to see anymore anyways," Bucky told him, harshly elbowing Steve when the man opened his mouth to ask some more about it. Clint sighed. "Besides, we all have a mission to prepare for."

* * *

**Stuck at home... Stuck here trying to focus. Amazingly I am getting work done. Jumping between stories, both original and fanfiction but hey, whatever. I'm writing something.**

**Darius has been a bit of a pain in the butt. He loves arguing with us and pretty much laughs until we prove how mad and disappointed we are with him. House is a mess cause we have all decided that it's a bit pointless right now. I wish we could clean it a bit more, like unboxing stuff still but all we ever seem to do is move things from one room to another and make a mess in that second room. So aggravating. Maybe one day we'll finish unpacking and dealing with everything.**


	10. Train

CHAPTER 10 - Train

Two days later, Clint found himself on the cliff side of a mountain, looking over a valley to the train tracks on the other side. Gabe and Morita fiddled with a CB radio to make sure the train was coming. Falsworth was just past them, looking down over the tracks in the distance. Dugan and Dernier were checking on the zip line, making sure it was ready to go. Clint stood by Steve and Bucky, looking over the chasm with apprehension.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone on Coney Island?" Bucky asked. Clint snorted, looking over to the duo.

"Yeah, and I threw up?" Steve questioned.

"This isn't payback, is it?" Bucky countered. Clint chuckled now, turning back to look over the expanse. Up here it looked much further than Steve had described it to the other Avengers. Maybe the Captain had forgotten how large it was. Steve twisted to look at the line with a smile on his face.

"Now why would I do that?" Steve joked. Before Clint could add anything to the conversation, Gabe spoke up.

"We were right, Dr. Zola is on the train," Gabe called as the trio turned back to look at him. "Hydra dispatch just gave permission to open up the throttle. Where ever they're going they must need him bad."

Steve nodded putting on his helmet and turning to the zip line. Bucky and Clint followed. The order to drop had been chosen as Steve, Bucky, Clint and then Gabe. Clint was a bit nervous having Gabe as last but he also knew that only Bucky died on this mission. The archer gritted his teeth. He couldn't stop that. He couldn't. But god did he want too.

"Let's get going, cause they're moving like the devil," Falsworth reported, turning away from his post of watching the rails. Steve quickly set up his zip line device, turning to speak to those behind him.

"We only got about a ten second window. You miss that window you're bugs on a windshield," Steve loudly informed everyone. Clint tensed, glancing to Gabe quick before focusing on Bucky's back again. Softly, as he turned back, he muttered the protection spell. No way he couldn't hurt.

"Mind the gap," Falsworth warned.

"Better get moving bugs," Dugan cried. Clint snorted. A moment later, Dernier called out in French, telling them to get a move on. Steve jumped off the ground and began his descent without the train in sight. Bucky, Clint and Gabe quick to follow behind. It had been estimated that three would safely be able to land but Steve wanted four of the team to go. So, that's what they were gonna do.

As Clint made his own descent, the train started to appear underneath Steve. As they slid further, Clint half wondered how they kept up with the train's speed but he wasn't gonna question it at the moment. Just follow with the events as it was supposed to go. Seconds later they dropped onto it. Once ready, the four carefully clambered over the top of the train, Steve and Bucky in the lead. Gabe caught up to Clint and they ran nearly in tandem. At the third train car or so, Steve found a ladder and began heading down it. Bucky paused at the top, watching for anyone popping up as Clint and Gabe appeared. Gabe kneeled down, prepping his gun. He was gonna attack from above and head to the front of the train while Steve, Bucky and Clint searched inside, moving up to the front as well.

Clint followed after Steve and Bucky and slipped into the train as Bucky turned back and closed the door. The archer nodded his thanks even as Steve began to check the place out, his gun drawn and ready. Steve moved to the far side of the area, walking up to the side of the boxes that had been set up in the middle. Bucky and Clint followed on the other side. When they neared the doorway, Steve hesitated, looking back to see why they were having no issues. Clint gritted his teeth harder. He knew this was a trap. God, he wished he could change all this. Or even warn Steve and Bucky. But, it _needed_ to happen as it had in Clint's past. Maybe he shouldn't have come on this mission. It was far too tempting to change things.

Steve headed forward, Bucky and Clint hanging back. There was a click as Steve made it to the other car. Bucky nearly got clipped at the door slid shut in front of him. Steve turned, looking to see Bucky's surprised face staring at him.

"Buck!" Clint cried as a Hydra agent appeared behind them. Bucky quickly spun and began firing. Clint shifted to the other side, making sure no one else was coming. And indeed there were more people coming. With a snarl, Clint began firing as well. Behind them, Clint knew Steve was fighting an agent in some sort of exoskeleton that was blasting at him. The same Hydra agent that would 'kill' Bucky in only a few minutes time.

Bucky ended up with his clip emptying before Clint and as he went to replace it behind a crate of something, Clint tried to cover him. But the damn rows of shit in the middle of the car made it hard for Clint to cover himself never mind help Bucky. Then Clint ran out. He hadn't grabbed an extra clip, trusting his aim to get everyone as need. Grimacing, he looked to Bucky. He couldn't use Izril in these tight of quarters.

Bucky quickly headed over, using his hand gun now to fire at what seemed to be maybe the last agent. Somehow the guy was great at dodging the man and Clint refused to take the gun, jumping out to try and distract the agent. It didn't work and now Bucky was out of ammo again. Seconds after Steve opened the door, tossing Bucky his own gun. Bucky smirked and prepared himself. With a nod, Steve held his shield over his face and charged into the nearest box making it slid toward the agent and when the agent dodged, Bucky was finally able to kill him.

"I had him on the ropes," Bucky informed as a thanks. Clint snorted, getting to his feet himself.

"I know," Steve replied. A moment later there was a whine. Steve spun before grabbing Bucky and pulling the Sergeant behind him. Clint dropped into a roll, moving toward Steve even as the Captain cried out. "Get down."

The blue explosion busted through the wall of the train and tossed Steve into the far wall. Having been rolling toward Steve, Clint ended up on the same side of the train as Bucky, opposite from Steve. As did the shield. Clint shifted behind Bucky as the man grabbed the shield and started firing at the guy even as he turned to take aim. Clint paled. This was when Bucky was going to die. No... This was when Clint was going to die.

Before Clint could move the Hydra agent fired again and the bolt hit the shield so hard Bucky flipped backwards into Clint and they both bashed up against the side of the wall that had broken outward. Bucky spun as he hit, turning so he faced the door. Clint hardly got that chance. As Bucky caught the railing on the wall side, Clint fell with a loud scream of shock. Bucky turned to see Clint falling and his eyes widening when suddenly Clint noted green light rolling around him.

The hit he expected on the ground ended up being him hitting his bed as if it was one of those odd dreams. He jerked up in shock. What the fuck just happened? He looked around. It was night. It hadn't been night when he went to sleep. Blinking rapidly in shock, Clint got to his feet. He ended up being highly unsteady and so he fell back onto the bed in surprise. Before he could really think about what was going on, there was a knock on the door. Clint looked over as Loki entered the room.

"You doing okay?" Loki wondered. Clint looked outside and then back to Loki.

"How long was I asleep?" the archer asked, praying to god that all that had been a damn dream. Loki sighed.

"You've actually been gone for nearly six months," Loki stated. Clint paled. 'Been gone?' That didn't sound good. And wait... SIX MONTHS!?

"What?" he croaked. Loki sighed again, moving deeper into the room to sit on the bed next to Clint. The archer just stared at him. "So... All..."

"All that was real," Loki admitted. Clint gulped, turning to look at the floor, his eyes closing in concentration, trying to remember what had last happened to him. There was no way any of this was real.

"I fell," he whispered, realizing that was how Bucky must have felt when he fell from the train. God... That was horrifying! And to be in Bucky's position... Or hell, Steve's position! Now Clint knew why neither of them wanted to ever speak about that day. What he wouldn't do to have it erased from his mind now.

"Sergeant Barnes warned us," Loki replied. Clint frowned, picking his head up in surprise. Bucky warned them. Warned his family that he had fallen? What the hell?

"He..." Clint started before understanding dawned on him. He quickly glanced down and noted his outfit was still the one he had fallen in. Oh fuck them. His face darkened even as he forgot his own warnings that he had given the two back then. They couldn't change events just as much as he couldn't. Loki gave him a light chuckle as if knowing what the archer was going to do.

"They are all downstairs if you wish. I sensed the magic of you returning earlier and called them all back," Loki informed. Clint nodded, getting to his feet. Loki only helped him for a moment before the archer stormed out of the room and downstairs. The whole group was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. His family being the first, then Natasha, Tony, Bruce, Wanda, Sam... And in the way back, by the front door, was Steve and Bucky with meek smiles on their faces. Clint headed straight over to them, ignoring those who noticed his odd outfit change, and then slammed his fist as hard as he could into Steve's face.

"You fucking asshole!" the archer screamed even as Sam and Tony jerked forward to hold Clint back from attacking Steve anymore. Steve recovered quickly and held up his hands to stop the men. Behind them, a brush of air meant that Pietro must have taken the kids outside to avoid any more excessive language. Clint hardly had a chance to even spare a mental thanks to the speedster as he was too focused on his lying Captain.

"I know, I deserve that," Steve admitted even as everyone but Bucky turned and focused on him with confused expressions. Clint snarled and moved to attack him again, this time Steve just caught his hand. "Just, let us explain, please."

"Why should I? Huh! You've fucking known me since 2012 and you didn't say shit!" Clint cried. Steve winced. He had expected this anger from Clint. Knew it would have been coming. Bucky had made mention of Clint wondering what timeline he was on before either of them 'died.' Now, knowing that they had been on the same timeline, Steve and Bucky knew Clint would be furious. And the Captain only had known because of the time Clint had told a 'fake' story of a glowing stick and box that nearly plunged New York into a crater. The archer hadn't mentioned the aliens, but he doubted he would have believed Clint back then, even if Clint had mentioned it as a story.

"Uh... I think we're missing something here," Tony called as if any of the trio cared. Natasha moved and slapped his arm to get him to shut up. This was a conversation for the three of them. They shouldn't interrupt. Even if they had a general knowledge that Clint had been sent to WWII.

"Clint, please," Steve begged. Clint snarled. "It's like you told us! We can't change what happened!"

"Oh, fuck you," Clint snapped, angry that Steve would dare use that against him. They had guessed enough of what happened when Clint got sent back. Why couldn't they have given something small away? Just a tiny tidbit?

"You doing what you did back then was all of our future and that extended to here," Steve defended as he pointed between Bucky, himself and Clint. "We couldn't let you know!"

"Wait, what?" Tony, Bruce and Sam asked in confusion. There had been mention, when this first happened, that Clint was sent back in time and while specific dates had never been mentioned there was mention about Clint going to WWII and keeping Steve and Bucky alive. Everyone had thought that Loki had been lying and that Clint was now on a separate timeline. No one could really believe the fact that Clint could have shaped the future when he ran into Steve and Bucky.

"We had to send Clint back to June 14th, 1943," Bucky finally answered, giving an official date as to when Clint arrived in the past. Clint turned and gave him a dark glare but focused again on Steve who just winced. Bucky at least had an excuse as to why he didn't say anything. The guy's mind had been wiped. Likely he hardly remembered Clint at all.

"Seriously?" Tony wondered. He frowned deeply, wondering how much Clint affected everything. Had he known Howard? Why hadn't he mentioned to Howard that he would die on December 16th, 1991?

"Why didn't anyone say anything?" Wanda questioned, not fully understanding why keeping everything a secret had been so imperative. Steve winced again.

"After... After Bucky and Clint fell from the train, I informed the other Commandos about Clint... I... I told them not to say he was involved in the war at all. No good having someone mention that he was with us. They all agreed, including Peggy and Howard," Steve explained. Clint hissed and backed away. God, he had met Dugan... And Morita before they passed. Neither of them mentioned meeting Clint. And Peggy... God, Peggy had known him!

"You can seriously go fuck yourself," the archer hissed, even more pissed off about how many people knew about him that met him at a young age but said nothing. Steve looked to the archer, his eye beginning to darken into a bruise that no one noticed.

"What did you want me to do? I just lost both of you and I realized that you... You were likely going to be all of our future. I couldn't let any of them tell you or let history have any record of you being there," Steve defended. Clint shook his head. This whole thing was messed up. Most of his life had revolved around what he did back then.

"Carter was the fucking one who admitted me into S.H.I.E.L.D, do you know that?" Clint growled. Bucky winced, remembering Clint mentioning that Peggy was going to be his boss in the future. Steve's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't really thought about that type of implication. Peggy had hung out with the Commandos a lot before being sent back to the States and the SSR and then returning for the end. She had seen Clint a few times. Steve just never recognized that Peggy and Clint knew each other before Steve unfroze. "She fucking saw me back then! Saw what I'd grow into! I fucking made my future back there without even fucking realizing it!"

"I'm-"

"Don't you fucking say sorry! I should have been warned!" Clint shouted too angry to think anything about what he had done himself back then. He hadn't warned Bucky of Azzano. Hadn't warned him about the train... Bucky stepped forward.

"Like you warned me?" the soldier shouted back, done with Clint riding Steve's ass about it all. Clint reeled back, guilt flooding through him. "It's as you said to me. Things happened that we can't change. You needed to go back and we couldn't warn you."

"I-"

"Clint, what happened back then sucked. It sucked for all of us. But, when I began getting my memories of everything back, you wanna know one of the first things I remembered?" Bucky sharply asked. The room pretty much stilled, anxious to hear what Bucky was going to say. "Your horrified face as you fell and fucking green magic flying around you."

Clint looked to the floor, the fire burning out real quick after that. In fact, the entire house had gone quiet, listening to the fight going on around them. Natasha's mouth set into a fine line. Wanda kept looking back and forth as if watching a three person tennis game. Tony focused on Clint, hanging on every word. Sam and Bruce just stood back, ready to help if needed. Laura glanced to Loki but the trickster seemed to be just as 'confused' about everything. He had never had to deal with the Time Stone as it spent many years on Earth, and while Bucky and Steve had seemed to have memories of what happened with the Stone, Loki had had no idea how much Clint would remember, if anything at all. Messing with time was a fickle thing. But Loki was certain of one thing. Clint was what kept Steve and Bucky alive through the war. Bucky sighed and moved forward, grabbing the archer gently by the shoulder.

"I didn't know what to think. First, Stevie kept calling me Bucky. Then I remembered that. I remembered that as Steve fell into the Potomac. But I couldn't ask him. Cause I didn't know him. But I knew that I knew you. And the next thing I remembered. I remembered you telling me that things had to happen and you couldn't change that," Bucky added, his voice going much calmer. Clint and Steve winced. Steve hadn't even thought of the concept that Bucky would have gotten memories of Clint. And certainly not before Bucky had gotten memories of him. "The more time I spent getting my memory back, the more I remembered fighting along side not just Steve and the other Commandos, but you as well. When I saw you in Germany... Steve had already warned me not to say anything even if I knew it was best not to talk about it."

Clint's eyes flicked to Steve but he otherwise didn't react. Sam frowned deeply. He had been with Steve and Bucky the whole time. When had Steve gotten the chance?

"I'm sorry we never said anything," Steve sighed out.

"Yeah, whatever," Clint growled, unable to stay all that mad at them when he could see their points. He had been stuck in that same situation. There was no way, in their position, that he'd have messed with that. But, he also didn't have to stay here. So, he turned and stormed out of the house the back way. No one willingly followed. Inside, Clint could tell that Steve and Bucky were informing everyone of what went down about their conversation. And likely more of what Clint and they had gone through. Clint was outside, sitting on the stairs, for maybe half an hour before someone dared come out to join him. He looked over, expecting Natasha or Wanda or Laura. But it was Bucky.

"I wish I could have said something," Bucky whispered, moving to sit down beside the archer. Clint huffed turning to look back over the fields that Pietro and Loki must have been working on while he was gone.

"I'll... I'll get over it all soon, just... What the fuck?" Clint muttered, leaning forward to drop his head into his hands. His eyes focused on the dirty fatigues he was still wearing. Looking at them, all he could think about was Bucky's face as he dropped away. Bucky sighed. It was kinda how he felt back then. He always wanted to bug Clint into telling him everything, but he respected Clint's desire to not mess things up. There was no good way to have handled all of this. As Steve and Bucky had already seen.

"I wanna thank you... For keeping all of us safe," Bucky added. Clint frowned, looking back to the soldier. "Loki spoke to us afterward we sent you back. Well, not just us but to Laura as well. He explained that if we hadn't sent you back... Dugan and I'd likely have died without even seeing Schmidt. Hell, Gabe would have died as well. Morita would have been permanently disabled. Falsworth... He didn't have a high likely hood of living. Dernier... He would have died on the train in my place. And Steve wouldn't have been out there to deal with the _Valkyrie_. You saved all of us."

"I..." Clint started, stunned. He hadn't thought that could happen. Putting the protection spells on everyone had become second nature, even though he knew that they'd all survive. But apparently they all survived because of what he did. That was almost a worse mind fuck then having actually been back there and wondering if he was going to fuck anything up. He had created the future that he lived in by trying not to mess with the future he knew. That was... Mind blowing.

"Yeah... Shocked me a bit too. You always said that we'd survive the tough battles. Azzano..."

"Azzano sucked," Clint snorted, before really thinking about what happened there. Bucky chuckled.

"Yeah..." Clint frowned, glancing over to Bucky. The soldiers didn't seem to have remembered that Clint had been experiment on by Zola as well, until now. Thinking about it now, Clint couldn't help but grow curious. Zola had hinted that he and Bucky were getting the same treatments. Was it possible that Bucky had gotten more before? Or had he not and now Clint was...

"Did... Did Hydra do any more things with you?" Clint wondered curious. Bucky hummed, looking to Clint in surprise. He hadn't thought about all that mess really since he got his memories back. The events after Azzano was just another memory he tried to re-forget. "Did Hydra inject you with more serums?"

Bucky frowned now, trying to think back. Slowly, he looked to Clint surprised. Clint let out a surprised exhale himself and glanced back inside. He could see Steve was there in the kitchen, brow furrowed with Laura fussing over his still blooming black eye. Clint moved to his feet, horrified now. He'd never have been able to bruise Steve before. And no one seemed to have noticed. Even Bucky jerked up, turning to see the damage to his friend. Steve noticed the movement, looking to them. After a moment of staring at them, Steve's own face widened into surprise. Laura was fussing over his black eye but the only one who had hit him was Clint. He quickly pushed past Laura and headed outside, making enough noise to make the rest of the group curious.

"You can't be serious?" he questioned. Behind him the others poured out of the house, wanting to hear what else they could have miss.

"Zola... He experimented on me, just as much as Buck," Clint informed, his eyes wide. Bruce frowned, looking at the three before understanding what Clint was saying. The archer may have the super soldier serum just like Steve and Bucky.

"You think you have the serum as well?" Bruce realized. Clint glanced to Bruce before nodding.

"Seriously?" Sam muttered. Wanda gave him a small tap on his arm. Natasha's eyes narrowed and Laura suddenly seemed highly uncomfortable. Did the serum get passed down to the kids?

"I... I was with Bucky when Hydra caught us in Azzano," Clint started.

"You pissed off Zola enough to get us both dragged away from testing," Bucky added, a small, pleased smile forming on his face as he remembered Clint attempting to break them out of the cages. Clint ignored it, still stuck on what could have happened and if it was real.

"I... I hadn't thought of that. Any of it," Clint murmured. How had he not seriously thought about that back then?

"Hydra never did anymore serum experiments with me. We must have both gotten it then," Bucky explained to the curious crowd.

"Wouldn't you guys have noticed?" Tony asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion. Clint snorted, shaking his head. Even Bucky and Steve shook their heads. None of them noticed that Bucky or Clint had changed at the time. There had been no clues.

"We fought with guns, not fists," the archer stated, his mind slipping back to the training. He had held back then, trying to keep everyone safe. Even Steve.

"That train... Holy shit," Bucky grunted, eyes (if possible) widening even more. Clint frowned, looking to Bucky. What was he talking about? Even Steve (and of course the others) were confused by what Bucky was stating. Bucky faced Clint and then Steve, unsure how to say what he had remembered. Then Steve got it.

"You trained us how to fight!" Steve gasped, staring down at Clint. "You taught me how to use my shield."

"Wait, Clint trained you guys?" Natasha scoffed. Clint turned and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Наташа он тренировал нас в наших собственных боевых стилей с этого момента," Bucky warned. Natasha raised an eyebrow at that. Slowly, she looked back at Clint. She knew Clint was an excellent fighter, and had done a stint of training before, but she never expected Clint to have memorized the fighting styles of the others. Never mind teaching it to the people themselves. Clint frowned. He had trained Steve, after fighting over the floor of the hotel. That was... (Natasha, he trained us into our own fighting styles from now)

"That was after Zola," he muttered.

"What?" Sam called. Clint looked up at them.

"When I trained the... Steve, Bucky and the other Commandos, it was after Zola. But... I was holding back. Didn't want to hurt any of them or screw up their fighting styles," Clint told the group. "So, we really never... Had to test it."

* * *

"Looks like you have the genomes for the serum but it is different than Steve and Bucky as well," Bruce determined a few hours later. Apparently Wakandan tech had in jet equipment for occasions like this. They hadn't even needed to leave the property. Clint huffed in surprise.

"Can I get sent back to the past to get the serum?" Tony joked.

"No," Steve, Bucky and Clint snapped. Tony raised his hands in defense.

"It was just a joke," Tony grumbled.

"One in horrible taste," Natasha needlessly pointed out. Tony pouted but didn't argue.

"So why didn't any of us notice all this before?" Steve wondered. Bruce sighed.

"Honestly, I can't say why it wasn't noticed long before now. But the same thing could have been said about Sergeant Barnes. They were both given the serums at the same time and if Hydra never gave Barnes anything else, it must have been slow to activate," Bruce informed. Clint frowned, still stuck on the idea that he was now a super soldier as well.

"I'm not sure Zola was giving everyone the same things. I'm betting, I needed a longer time for it to kick in," Clint added, glancing over to the Sergeant as if he'd have answers.

"Everyone else never returned, Clint," Bucky pointed out. Clint furrowed his brow. It was true that no one ever went back to the cages but... Was Zola's only successes Bucky and Clint? "What if the reason was because Zola kept changing the serum and it didn't work? So he took both of us and used only slightly different chemicals."

"I don't want to risk this killing you if the effects had gotten this delayed," Steve mentioned. Clint frowned even as Bucky paled. It was true. Both of them had bastardized brands of Steve's own serum. Could there be future issues for them? Or maybe even Steve? Bruce turned back to look at the readings from his scans. He knew that Steve's had melded perfectly to his DNA and there had been no degradation to his body. Bucky hadn't been watched all that much to see if he was set and Clint's blood never had showed anything before. Looking the sample over now, Bruce could see that the serum in Clint's blood had mostly fused with his DNA. There were still excess traces.

Laura let out a soft whimper at that idea. Wanda moved to hold her in a hug. Natasha even glanced over. The mother wasn't taking any of this news well. First the idea of Clint being able to use magic and now this. Clint was changing faster than she thought possible. And it was all because of him working with the Avengers. If Clint had never had to deal with any of that, she'd still have her normal husband. A normal husband you would have retired once S.H.I.E.L.D went down. Now... Now Clint would never retire. He was going to keep fighting and Laura and the kids would be stuck in the same boat as before. Clint not being around and wondering if he was safe.

"But, we don't know when Bucky's serum started working. What if someone accidentally stumbled onto a way that could affect them?" Sam called. "No offense Bucky, but we've already had someone wandering around with a notebook of facts on the Winter Soldier. What if there is another, or even just some hidden notes somewhere that explains what happened? I doubt Hydra would keep secret that two test subjects survived."

"He has a point," Tony muttered.

"But, Hydra was part of S.H.I.E.L.D, how could no one have noticed Clint's blood work before?" Laura whispered, talking for the first time in an attempt to salvage something. Maybe if Hydra had noticed it before, Clint would quit. He'd stay home. Loki finally rolled his eyes.

"Barton wouldn't have had the serum until going back and getting caught in Azzano. As that event hadn't happened till some point in the last six months, his body would not have any signs," Loki pointed out. They all looked to him. Loki huffed. Time travel was a messed up concept but there was some truth to it. "When Clint first joined S.H.I.E.L.D, he hadn't been sent back. So his blood work would be normal. Now that he has gone back, it's changed. Those are the rules of time travel. Clint couldn't be affected by the serum until these events passed as he didn't have it."

"Time travel sucks," Clint bemoaned. Bucky and Steve snorted. As the only ones who had any sort of time traveling moments (ie: seventy years frozen or captured and unfrozen for only weeks at a time), they'd understand best. But, Loki must have at some point have done it as well for him to know about such things. Laura suddenly let out a small whine. Clint looked to her, surprised. She looked pale. "Laur?"

"Don't," she muttered before turning around and heading back to the house. Clint frowned. What happened? Wanda shook her head and headed after the woman. A moment later, Natasha did as well. All the guys just stood there before Loki sighed and looked to Clint.

"She hadn't taken well to you being sent back," the trickster admitted. Steve and Bucky winced. That wasn't even really true. It had been much worse.

_ "Why? Why does it have to be him?" Laura whined staring at Loki only minutes after Steve sent her husband back. The Lie-smith sighed._

_ "If Rogers and Barnes remember it was Clint back there, it had to be him," he tried. Laura shook her head, tears forming._

_ "I'm sorry that this had to happen. But, Clint had been good to us. He always admitted that he couldn't speak of what was going to happen. That meant, we couldn't tell him," Bucky muttered moments before Steve came down. Laura took one look at the soldier before grabbing a glass of water and chucking it at the man. The glass shattered on the wall beside Steve. The trio froze as Natasha and Sam wandered into the room._

_ "What's going on here?" Natasha wondered. Laura shook her head as she began to sob. Frowning, Natasha moved closer and pulled the woman into a hug. Sam glanced over at the guys._

_ "Steve?" the air-man asked. Steve winced._

_ "Uh... I just sent Clint back in time," the Captain mumbled, turning to look at the ground. Natasha's eyes widened in shock._

_ "You did what?" the spy cried loud enough to catch Wanda's, Tony's, and Bruce's attention. They headed to the kitchen as well, taking the whole scene in._

_ "What-" Tony began to ask but stopped when he noticed Natasha was glaring hard at Steve, Bucky and Loki while Laura was curled up in her arms._

_ "Clint... We... Well, I sent him back in time," Steve once again replied even as he lifted the green stone he had used to show the others. The room busted into shocked cries, with the distraction, Loki snatched the stone from Steve. Steve held his hands out defense and silencing them all. "Look! I didn't want to!"_

_ "Then why the fuck did you?" Tony snapped, now angry on Laura's behalf._

_ "Cause if he didn't, neither of them would be here," Loki snapped. Everyone turned to look at him, including Laura._

_ "What?" Steve asked. Loki sighed, moving to rub a hand over the bridge of his nose._

_ "What would have happened to them?" Laura meekly gasped out between the remains of her sobs. Loki looked up to her._

_ "Barton's presence in the past saved Barnes's life," Loki informed, suddenly knowing this information was true. Bucky went pale as Loki tried to fully remember how he'd know. Had he watched this all happen?_

_ "I... I would have died?" Bucky questioned. Loki nodded, not even looking at the soldier. "He... He always said that I'd make it through the war... Well... Until the train."_

_ "And with him back there, you did. Without him telling you that, decisions made around you would have gotten you killed," Loki added, finally looking to Bucky. He was beginning to remember his mother telling him tales._

_ "Wait? You sent Clint to World War II?" Sam choked out in shock. Steve nodded._

_ "What would have happened if he wasn't back there?" Bucky wondered, suddenly grateful that Loki had pressed Steve and him into doing it. He had no way of knowing that Clint kept him safe._

_ "If Barton had not been sent back, nearly every Howling Commando would have died and Rogers would never had gotten on the _Valkyrie._ It was imperative that he was sent back. I just never had any idea when it was supposed to happen," Loki responded, remembering the distant tale he had with his mother over an archer with magic that saved history. He had originally thought it had been made up but now. Now he knew it to be true. Clint Barton had gone back in time and kept James Barnes and Steven Rogers alive long enough to turn the tide in Midgard's second world war. Bucky frowned, trying to remember every battle he had been in with Clint. How often had the guy kept him and Dugan safe? And even once Steve arrived. How had he kept them alive?_

_ "Everyone?" Sam squeaked, brushing over the fact that Loki had also known this was supposed to have happened. Loki nodded his head just as Bucky realized how Clint had kept everyone safe. Clint's magic had kept them all safe._

_ "The protection spells!" Bucky called. Everyone looked to him. "Clint told Dugan and me that he casted protection spells on us. It didn't typically help the others we traveled with, but from the beginning of our deployment, Clint, Dugan and I survived every battle, uninjured."_

_ "Wait... All of this needed to happen? Every stone? Getting his magic? Learning those battle spells?" Wanda inquired._

_ "Even the bow. He used that a few times," Bucky added, glancing over to Steve. Steve nodded. He remembered seeing Izril and Clint practicing with it. "All the Commandos knew about his magic."_

_ "Dude!" Tony whined. "Wait, did Peggy and Howard know?"_

_ "No, just the Commandos. We made sure no one else knew," Steve soothed. Bucky winced, forgetting that none of them had told Steve that she knew._

_ "Which one of them?" Sam questioned, having caught the motion. Everyone looked to Bucky as the soldier bit his lower lip._

_ "Carter. She knew about it," Bucky admitted before shaking his head. There had been more who knew. Some of them might even still be alive! "The few others who learned about the magic... They... They died or went missing, I think only one of the ones who knew got sent home."_

_ "You couldn't have even told any of us?" Natasha growled, releasing Laura to stalk closer to Steve and Bucky. Both of them backed away a bit, knowing that Natasha was likely going to kick their asses over this._

_ "Look, we couldn't say anything. It would change things," Steve mentioned. "Clint... The few things Clint told us effected everything. In fact, Erskine admitted to me that he had asked Clint about my chances with the serum."_

_ "How did he know Clint knew?" Bruce wondered._

_ "I don't know," Steve huffed. "I just know that Erskine spoke to Clint and it was him that helped confirm that I should be part of the program."_

_ "Erskine also got Clint deployed with me while skipping training," Bucky snarled, turning to glare at Steve at the reminder. The Captain winced. It had seriously been his fault that Clint got forced into the 107__th__. "Clint could never figure out why. He told me about it only once before we went to sleep."_

_ "Erskine was far too intelligent for his own good," Loki replied, remembering asking why the doctor had been so insistent on Clint going with Barnes. Frigga had said that Erskine had been given a vision of two blonde soldiers fighting side by side with a group of six more men, one of which seemed to fit Bucky's description. How Erskine was given this vision, Loki didn't know. But he assumed Frigga had some part in it. Everyone looked to the trickster in curiosity. "While Rogers was getting the serum and Barnes was being shipped out the next day, Erskine knew he had to keep the three of them together. And having Barton join the Project Rebirth would not necessarily get him into the proper area. But being sent with Barnes would make it that the archer was with someone."_

_ "Clint was gonna join anyways," Steve muttered. Bucky frowned._

_ "He was gonna wait till I left. Once the 107__th__ was gone, he wouldn't have been with us. He would have been in another regiment," Bucky continued._

_ "So, basically bird-brain was gonna go to war anyways?" Tony snorted, crossing his arms and starting an air about him that made it seem like he found all this humorous. Laura shook her head. This wasn't possible. Unfair for everything to get placed on Clint. And unfair that she had to be one of the ones suffering from what happened to the archer._

_ "Get out." Everyone paused, looking to her. "I want all of you out of my house."_

_ "Laura?" Natasha whispered, confused. Laura shook her head, intent on not letting the spy get in her head. This was all too much. In fact, this was going to be the last straw. If Clint returned safely, she'd give him an ultimatum. Either retire and stay with the family or leave and not come back._

_ "Get out!" she cried a bit louder. Slowly, they started filtering out of the house. Laura followed them to make sure they left. Outside, Pietro and the kids stopped playing looking to at the group. As they got onto the grass, Loki and Natasha turned back to look at Laura. The woman's eyes flicked over to Loki. While he had started this whole mishap with taking over Clint's mind, he wasn't truly to blame for what happened after. But she couldn't decide how much the trickster should have been blamed. "Loki. Go work the fields. I'll decide if I can deal with you later."_

_ "I apologize for not fully informing you," the trickster apologized before nodding his head and heading off. Natasha glanced at Loki before focusing once again on Laura._

_ "I need you to leave," Laura pressed. Natasha's face closed off. Laura could tell that the spy was about to argue with her and she didn't want to deal with it. "I don't want to hear it."_

_ "Laura," Natasha tried again but Laura shook her head as her eyes narrowed._

_ "If Clint hadn't been convinced to work with the Avengers by you, he wouldn't be in World War II. He'd be home. Watching his kids," Laura snapped. Natasha winced as Bruce headed over to her in support. "Clint never should have been on the team. He wasn't super. But once he joined you all, you... You all couldn't do without him. He could never retire."_

_ "Laura," Natasha whispered but Laura shook her head._

_ "Get off my property. You'll have a long time before you come back into my good graces."_

* * *

**So, I'm a day late. With good reason! I couldn't see yesterday. My eyes decided to revolt against my contacts and my glasses are my old prescription and so I couldn't focus.**

**Yeah. Week has been a bit messed up with my eye issues. Been going on and off all week. So, there were a lot of days that I wasn't around Darius at all. But, he seemed to be okay. Out side of ticking hubby off with some snippy attitude. Then again, I get annoyed with the same attitude so... But yeah. Baby Jason just celebrated his first birthday yesterday! He's getting so big! Like Darius, I hardly spent time around him this week so I don't really have any new news. But, hopefully everything will be back to normal.**


	11. But Wait

CHAPTER 11 - But Wait

"I don't care if it wasn't your choice," Laura snipped, glaring at Clint. The archer winced. How could she blame him for getting turned into a super soldier? He tried to escape. Not really his fault that his attempt got Bucky and him to be chosen by Zola.

"You've been arguing with him for nearly two hours, Laura. It happened. We can't change that," Natasha said. Laura turned and glared at her. She still wasn't over their argument from six months ago. They were all only here because Loki had mentioned Clint was coming back and they should see him. Laura couldn't argue with them returning to the farm.

"Technically-" Tony started.

"No!" everyone called. Laura shook her head.

"You could have avoided the war," she hissed, once again focusing on her husband. Clint sighed.

"It's as you've said before. I can't give up fighting." Clint answered before looking to Laura with a grimace. She had once given Clint permission to go back with the others. But, that was before everything that had happened. Before Clint had first mentioned and attempted retirement.

"I wish I could honestly say I understand but," Laura informed, her eyes starting to twinkle with sadness. "You told us, you'd stop, again. You'd stay home, be their father."

"I know. I know I did, but, Laur-"

"No. I can't do this," Laura interrupted, shaking her head. After all of this, she was too strung up with worry. The whole room paused at her words, looking to the woman in surprise. Briefly Loki remembered her joking about the fact Clint would never retire. She had been fine before. But... "I can't sit on the sidelines wondering if you are going to come home alive or in a casket."

"Laur-" Clint tried again, moving toward her. Laura winced and backed away. Clint stopped, pain etching on his face.

"No. I'm sorry. But I'm done," Laura stated clearly before turning and walking out of the house. After a moment, Sam and Natasha headed off after her. Clint groaned, looking to the floor. For once in his life, Tony actually let the awkward silence just lay over them all. They stayed like that until Cooper came running into the house.

"Mom said you did something stupid," the teen called. There were varying degrees of chuckling at that. "What happened?"

"Did anyone explain to you what happened to me?" Clint wondered. Cooper nodded.

"You got sent back to the war and got experimented on like Uncle Bucky. But, no one said anything else," Cooper answered.

"Your father had been given a similar substance to what Steven and James had received," Loki informed. Cooper frowned before his eyes widened on his dad. Clint gave him a soft smile.

"You're a super soldier?" Cooper said, awed. Clint chuckled and nodded, not able to use actual words in case he started crying. But the whole thing was so much easier to talk about with his kid. Especially the kiddo who had nearly six months ago thought he had killed Clint and Loki. God, after his return from space with Loki, he'd only been home about a week before being sent back in time. No wonder Laura had a problem with all this. She had no idea if he survived any of it. She must have grieved for him numerous times during that year when he vanished and no one knew what happened to him. "Awesome!"

Clint snorted before Cooper ran at him and hugged him fiercely. Lila and Nate arrived soon after and joined the hug. Pietro, Natasha and Sam stood in the doorway. Clint looked up to them and watched as Natasha shook her head. He sighed. Of course.

"Mommy says you're gonna go away and not come home," Nate stated. Clint closed his eyes, holding back the tears. Laura was actually kicking him out. He had expected that maybe she'd forgive him or something. This was decisive.

"I'll be around, just like before," Clint promised, praying Laura would let him visit his kids.

"Mom says she won't allow you back here," Lila added, backing away from the hug. Cooper did as well. Clint grimaced. "But, Cooper's gonna be heading to college in the fall. I only got a few more years!"

"Yeah," Clint agreed a pained smile forming on his face even as he looked down to Nate. The poor kid wasn't even really in school yet. He had just recently turned 4. Only a month away from his birthday where he'd turn 5. Clint wouldn't be in his life for nearly thirteen years. Nate must have sensed something cause he backed away.

"It's okay, Dad. I understand," the young boy informed. Clint huffed out a small sobbing laugh. When had his kids gotten so old? Cooper was turning 18 in December and Lila had turned 15 in March. Honestly, the only 'kid' he still had, was Nate. The others would just be starting to move on with their lives. "You keep the world safe."

"Thanks bud," Clint retorted.

"Laura said we should probably all leave soon," Sam mentioned. Clint nodded. He assumed as much. The archer looked at Pietro.

"You staying?" he wondered. Pietro nodded. They both looked to Loki who just shook his head no. It had been hard enough for him being around Laura the past few months. And she certainly hadn't made it easier either. Now that Clint was getting kicked out, Loki refused to stay. Pietro though... He refused to leave. Even if Laura treated him differently, which she hadn't.

"I'll keep 'em safe," the speedster promised. Slowly, the group headed out. Bucky slapped Clint on the shoulder, trying to cheer him up. It kinda worked, especially when Clint realized that Bucky had done it at full strength. Maybe one day, he'd be allowed back.

* * *

"Did you ever check on those who survived?" Clint wondered after the jet brought them all to Wakanda. Everyone had broken up into groups once the jet landed. T'Challa offered them all a place to stay for the night. Even Tony. In the morning, he'd fly whoever wanted it, to a new destination. So far, Steve and Bucky pretty much had followed Clint around. They knew the risk of Clint being left to his own memories of the war. Even to this day, both men still had issues thinking about what happened back then. But this was something neither of them expected. Bucky frowned, looking at Clint curious. Steve had checked on the Commandos but by the time Bucky had gotten his own memories back, they had all passed away.

"Clint, the Commandos are dead," Steve reminded. Clint frowned, looking to Bucky to see if the Sergeant had any idea what he was talking about.

"I'm not talking about the Commandos. I'm talking about Peter, Hugh, Aiden, Bill, Charlie, Chris and Jeremy," Clint quickly listed. Bucky raised an eyebrow, trying to place the names. It took Clint a moment before he realized what he had asked. He winced.

"Those are the guys sent back home?" Bucky questioned. Clint nodded. "No. I... I hadn't thought about it."

"You want to go visit them?" Steve wondered. Again Clint nodded. "They might already be..."

"I know. Still, I... I wanna know," Clint whispered. The duo nodded. It was understandable that Clint would want to know what happened to the others.

"I can talk to T'Challa, he might have a way over looking it up. Then tomorrow, we can get dropped off to find them all," Steve suggested. Clint nodded, thankful that the man understood.

"I'd appreciate it."

* * *

T'Challa, well actually Shuri, had been able to find all the names of the men Bucky and Clint served with. Charlie, Jeremy and Hugh had all died years ago. Bucky and Clint were surprised to learn that Mike and Cole hadn't even made it home. But, the others had lived long and full lives. Charlie had married a nice woman who was still alive and they had had two little girls. Both of whom were married and had kids themselves, totaling up to three boys and a girl. None of them were interesting in speaking with Clint or Bucky about Charlie and his stories from the war.

Jeremy had also gotten married but never had a child. And his wife divorced him after only being with him for ten years. Considering she divorced him, Clint and Bucky decided it was best to leave that issue alone. Hugh stayed single for the rest of his life. But he did have a ton of nieces, nephews and their kids. Apparently he had been very much in their lives cause when asked about them, they had mentioned Hugh had talked about Barnes, Dugan and even Clint before. They all thought Clint had been made up though as there had been no mention of him in any of the papers from back then. And even with Bucky admitting Clint was real, none of them wanted to meet with the two soldiers.

Bill was in a hospital. Well, actually, mostly on his death bed and so when Steve mentioned to the family that Barnes was alive and standing beside him, they agreed it wouldn't be good for Bill to see Bucky. Not a good idea to send the man who barely seemed to have aged a day since the war to see a guy nearly dead. There was no mention of Clint made after that. Chris was in a mental institution after his wife, daughter, son and mother had been killed in a robbery. Certainly wasn't a good idea to go speak with him.

Aiden was excited to see Bucky and even Clint again. His family (wife and two sons) explained how both men where highly spoken of in their household. And even knowing that neither man had aged, Aiden was still willing to see them. Peter was the same way. Actually, after returning home, even with a bum arm, the man taught himself street magic. Like Aiden, he was ecstatic to see Clint and Bucky. Mostly Clint though. He totally wanted to show off his 'magic' skills to the archer. Peter's grandchildren were the ones who agreed to meet with them as well considering Peter's wife had passed a few years prior and their parents were busy. In the end though, the trio decided to meet with Aiden first.

Aiden had just turned 94 the week prior but he was healthy as a horse. His wife was only 88. Their sons were 64 and 59. Both men agreed not to bring their wives or children. Even though they had all heard the stories Aiden had said of Bucky and Clint. It was interesting enough with the remaining family members questioning the Clint Barton of this time with the possible Clint Barton from back then.

"Hi, I'm Cheryl," the wife introduced to Steve, Bucky and Clint as soon as they arrived at the hospital. Apparently Aiden had been getting treatment for the flu and the hospital hadn't wanted to risk leaving him on his own. The only reason the hospital was allowing Steve, Bucky and Clint to visit was because none of them could get sick or even possibly make the man worse. Cheryl then pointed to the two men gathered with her. "This is James. He was named after you, Sergeant Barnes."

Bucky nearly choked on air when he heard the name. Aiden had named a kid after him? Clint chuckled at his reaction but didn't argue it. Steve smirked. It had been surprising how many kids had actually been named after him. While Steve was a common name, after checking on a few of the kids, Steve knew who was named after him and who wasn't.

"Nice to see you in person. Dad got really hyped up on the news when... Well," James started, faltering off near the end.

"Yeah," Bucky agreed, looking toward the floor. All he could think of was the bad portion of the news. When he was still the Winter Soldier. Clint patted his shoulder.

"What happened?" the other man asked. Cheryl turned to glare at him.

"Clinton!" she snapped. This time there was an audible sound of surprise as Clint realized the other child was named after him. He had only told Aiden once that his name was shortened from Clinton. Yet, the man had remembered! Steve looked to Clint.

"You okay?" the Captain wondered, drawing nearly everyone's attention to the archer. Clearing his throat, Clint nodded. He'd be fine. Just needed a minute to realize what had just happened. Not once had he ever thought that anyone would name their kid after him. And to have that kid honored along with Bucky was even harder to imagine.

"Yeah," the archer coughed out.

"I'm sorry. Aiden was so upset to hear what happened to you two," Cheryl told them. "He knew that you were the ones who had made it that he survived that cannon ball. Kept saying that Barton told him to move."

"I... I did?" Clint called, surprised. He didn't remember that. But... Thinking on it now, he remembered calling out to someone. Aiden had turned around. If he hadn't, that ball would have hit him in the back and possibly torn through the man. It might have saved Sam in the end, but there was a high likely hood that Sam would have still died.

"Well, Dad is waiting," James mentioned, drawing the archer out of his thoughts. Nodding, the trio were led to the room that Aiden was relaxing in. He perked up at the sight of his family coming into the room. Steve went in next and Aiden saluted the Captain and made Steve smile. Bucky and Clint came next.

"Sergeant Barnes, Corporal Barton," Aiden said once he noticed them. Clint raised a hand to the back of his neck.

"I'm actually a Second Lieutenant these days," Clint informed. Aiden raised an eyebrow in surprise. Clint gave him a slightly nervous chuckle. "Agent Carter of the SSR created my job. She remembered me and found a way to increase my rank while I worked for her."

"Wow," Aiden whispered. "Wait... How did you all survive and not age?"

Cheryl frowned but said nothing. Bucky and Clint knew then that Aiden was having memory issues. But somehow he still remembered them. It seemed more recent memories tended to fade. In the mean time, James and Clinton had their gazes locked on the trio. It had been announced before that Steve had been frozen in ice, so everyone knew how he survived. But nothing had been seriously mentioned of Bucky and certainly not Clint.

"After I fell from the train, I had actually survived the landing. Some... Some Russians found me and then handed me over to Hydra. They... They erased my memories and used me for their own deeds. When I wasn't on a mission for them, I was put into cryo," Bucky answered, looking to the ground, embarrassed by what had happened to him. Cheryl gave a sharp intake of surprise before leaving her husband's side and wrapping Bucky in a large hug. The Sergeant looked up in surprise at the action, looking to Steve and Clint for help.

"I'm so sorry dear. That shouldn't have happened to anyone. Especially you," she cooed. Bucky cleared his throat, holding back his body's reaction to want to cry. When she finally backed away, Bucky didn't know what else to do. Then everyone turned to look at Clint. The archer winced. His wasn't as dark but was certainly going to be much more confusing.

"I was actually born in 1987," the archer began, a hand shifting to rub the back of his neck. The whole family just kind of stared at Clint. He was even younger than James and Clinton?

"But... You were there. I'm certain of it," Aiden argued, his heart rate monitor jumping up a bit. Clint shifted to calm him.

"I was," Clint agreed.

"How?" Clinton asked, confused. Clint sighed, glancing at Steve and Bucky for help. Steve just kind of gave him a face that said to 'go on.' Bucky bit his lips and looked away subtly. If Aiden and his family wasn't currently staring at him, Clint would totally make a face at the duo.

"I... I was sent back in time to 1943," Clint answered, a hand once again went to rub the back of his neck. The room went silent for a bit as the family tried to wrap their minds around what Clint was saying to them. "I know it doesn't sound believable, but it's true. A... Something, sent me back in time a little over six months ago."

"Six... Six months?" Aiden repeated. Clint nodded. "But you died with-"

"When I fell from the train, whatever had sent me back used that moment to return me. I never touched the ground," Clint replied.

"Is that why there is no mention of you in any records?" James questioned. Clint frowned for a moment before realizing Peggy or Howard must have gone and erased his name.

"We couldn't have anyone hear of a Clint Barton in 1943 who died in 1945 without a child born to his name before he was born in 87," Steve pointed out. James grimaced. He had told his father once or twice that while Barnes did exist, there was no proof of Barton out side of the memories of Bill, Charlie, Chris, Jeremy and Aiden. And James had been to see them numerous times. He had been fascinated with the history of World War II. "After I thought Clint had died, I made the Commandos, Agent Carter and Howard Stark know that there could be no mention of him in the war at all."

"And the rest of us couldn't be believed cause only six of us came home and survived," Aiden whispered, mostly to himself. Clint winced. These men had met him and then not only lost him but had to deal with no one knowing a thing about him.

"Wait. Dad mentioned Hawkeye-"

"Yes. I am," Clint interrupted. Clinton paled. He was not only named after a man who had saved his father in World War II but an original Avenger. Cheryl gave a half hearted chuckle at that.

"Aiden was so excited to see you on TV in Manhattan. He wanted to send a letter to you, but I convinced him not too. Didn't want to bring up anything," she mentioned. Steve huffed, thankful that Cheryl convinced him against it.

"Clint wouldn't have known anything about that in 2012. Actually, I was the only one who really remembered the war at that point," Steve announced. Aiden grimaced. He and Steve had never crossed paths. Even though he knew, thanks to James, about Steve saving the 107th and then Bucky joining the Howling Commandos, Aiden never would have thought to reach out to him.

"Why didn't Clint know?" Aiden wondered.

"I hadn't gone to World War II at that point. To me, it was my future even if it was your past," Clint explained. Aiden huffed. Made sense to some degree. Before anyone could speak any more on the subject, a nurse came in to check on the older soldier. She didn't have enough room with everyone there to do her job, so she kicked nearly all of them out. When she left, James and Clinton began to repeat stories they had heard his father say to see if it actually happened. With smiles and laughter, Bucky and Clint told their point of view for each moment. Nearly two hours later, Steve, Bucky and Clint said their goodbyes to Aiden and his family. Once again, Aiden and Cheryl thanked Bucky and Clint for keeping Aiden alive long enough to return home. Even if he was one leg down.

* * *

"And, is this your card?" Peter asked, drawing a six of spades off the pile of other cards. Steve laughed.

"Yes it is," the Captain called. Susan, one of the oldest grandchild, snorted and rolled her eyes. This had been a trick she had grown up around and had been done by hundreds of other magicians. It had been a surprise for Clint to learn that Susan was his age. And wasn't that another mind fuck. Time travel always seemed to do that.

"You don't need to encourage him if he got it wrong," she joked. Peter pouted at her but didn't seem overly bothered. Clint and Bucky chuckled.

"Fine, you wanna see real magic?" Peter hissed, glancing at Clint with a pleading face. Clint grimaced. "Please. None of us will say anything."

"Even if they do, at least with everything going around these days, no one will really be able to connect you to who they are talking about," Steve encouraged. Clint rolled his eyes but snapped his wrist to draw Izril to his hand. Everyone but Bucky, Steve, Clint and Peter jumped at the sight. Then the youngest came over.

"Woah. How'd you do that?" Branden questioned, reaching out a hand to touch the bow. Clint allowed it. The kid was only thirteen. And, after having tested it with Cooper, Lila, and Pietro, Clint knew that he'd never be able to draw back on the string to hurt himself. Only way he'd hurt himself if by hitting it against him or someone else.

"Actually, that isn't the magic that your grandfather was talking about," the archer laughed. Branden eyes' widened before Clint lifted the bow, turned to a window and drew back the string.

"Aren't you mis-" Another grandchild started. His name was Michael. Clint ignored him as he whispered the spell to create the arrow (he had yet figured out how to make the arrows without the bow). Everyone gasped in surprise but rather than shooting, Clint gently moved the string back into resting position. He then took the arrow off and handed it over to the boy. Michael reverently took it, acting as if it was the most expensive and fragile item in the world. Even Susan seemed impressed.

"How did you do that? Have the arrow hidden in the bow so that when you pulled back it appeared?" she inquired. Peter rolled his eyes.

"What makes you think that?" Bucky wondered. Susan rolled her eyes.

"Magic isn't real," she retorted. Bucky raised an eyebrow.

"But aliens-"

"Just a camera trick," she replied. Steve and Clint frowned deeply at her.

"Susan. Come on," Peter begged. Susan shook her head.

"No, it's ridiculous for everyone to think it's all real," she argued.

"I allowed you to come to met the men who kept me safe, not to insult them," he snapped.

"It's fine, Peter," Clint mentioned, trying to soothe the situation.

"No. I just want the truth!" Susan cried.

"The truth is they came! There is real magic!" Branden shouted back at her. "Stop trying to ruin it for everyone else."

Susan huffed and rolled her eyes. But before she could speak, Steve stepped forward. "I am sorry to inform you of this Miss, but all of it is true."

"It can't be," she snipped before shaking her head and walking away. Peter sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry. I figured she was going to be like this. I shouldn't have agreed to let her come," Peter apologized for his granddaughter. Clint shook his head. Honestly, he had been waiting for someone to say he wasn't actually doing real magic. It felt better than he had thought it might.

"Some people just can't be swayed," Bucky excused. Peter laughed.

"You guys were always so forgiving," the man stated. "Oh, hey. Did you guys hear about Mike and Cole?"

"Yeah. I can't believe they didn't make it," Clint moaned. Bucky placed a hand on the archer's shoulder. "They seemed stable when we left them."

"Mike's lung collapsed in transport to London," Peter mentioned, saddened by his memory of finding out. "Cole would have made it. He was all set. But the medical transport got blown to shit."

"Grandpa!" Branden hissed, looking to Peter. The older man rolled his eyes again. Apparently Branden's parents didn't like swears. Bucky and Clint snorted, glancing over at Steve who just huffed.

"We missing something?" Michael wondered, handing back Clint's arrow to the archer. Without though, Clint whispered the vanishing spell rather than taking it. The jump and cry of shock from the kid was nearly ten times better than when the archer had done it to Tony. Everyone laughed, including Michael after a bit. Steve, Bucky and Clint ended up staying long enough that they were able to met Michael's dad, Mitchell and Branden's mother, Paula. After hearing stories and re-watching Clint's performing his magic, Paula invited them to stay for dinner. It was Steve's moral obligation that got Bucky and Clint to agree to stay. By the end of the night, Paula and Mitchell had given up their phone numbers telling the trio to call anytime they wished, even if it was to talk.

* * *

"Hey, feather head," Tony called, walking toward the archer. Clint lowered his bow, turning away from the range to see the genius was coming closer. In the lane next to him, Bucky stopped shooting as well, FRIDAY having flashed the lights to alert all shooters of a visitor.

"Hey, Tony," Clint replied. Bucky nodded his own greeting but Tony didn't even attempt to look at him. Neither sniper was surprised. "What's up?"

"I... Well, after all this-" Tony began before waving his free hand while holding up a random box. Clint frowned at the sight of it. What was that about? Bucky stepped closer, curious himself now.

"What's that?" the Sergeant asked. Tony smiled.

"Well, Dad kept a whole bunch of Howling Commandos stuff," Tony started. Clint frowned deeply. Where was this going? "And well, I had already found some things for Steve. And, I was looking for some things for Terminator."

"Howard kept our things?" Bucky muttered. Tony waved a hand at him as if that wasn't a big deal. Which, technically it wasn't.

"Yeah, well. I actually found this," Tony continued, handing the box over to the archer. Clint frowned and took it from him but just stared at it, confused. Bucky raised an eyebrow and just watched, waiting to see what Clint would do. Tony smirked. "Well, go on. Open it!"

Sighing, Clint opened the box and then nearly dropped it in shock. Inside was a shadow box of items that Clint had owned back in the war, some photos with Steve, Bucky, him and even some of the other Commandos. But the biggest point of the entire thing was the medals. While only two were in the shadow box itself, there was markings and small plaques for the other medals he had earned during his time before World War II. Medals that he apparently had earned before and Peggy just had given him. But these last two, she never had to chance to. The Medal of Honor and a Purple Heart.

"Holy shit," the archer gasped. Tony smirked.

"Dad saved it and Aunt Peggy left a note," the genius added, pulling a paper out from an envelope attached to the back. Clint swallowed in shock before gently putting the box down to take the letter.

_Dear Clint Barton,_

_ It was certainly a shock for all of us to learn that you are actually from the future. Don't be mad that Steve told us. He had good reason. At the time, the Commandos, Howard, and I didn't understand why and it chafed a few of us. But, then I found a poster years later. A poster of 'The Amazing Hawkeye!' (ie:photo attached)._

Clint chuckled even as Bucky stole the image with a smile.

_A few of us wanted to go see you but Jarvis (Howard Stark's butler that had helped collect any information on you) convinced us that it would be a bad idea. Steve had told us for a reason to not bother you._

_ The day I saw the kill order sent out on the assassin Hawkeye... Well, I froze. I had no idea what to think. I knew it was you. And I knew you were a good man. So, what happened? Then I realized. I must have gotten involved. Agent Phil Coulson was very willing to help me._

"Holy shit," Clint whispered. Bucky and Tony shifted to get a better look at the letter. "I knew it."

"Wow... You did make your past," Bucky commented in surprise.

_Seeing you handcuffed in custody nearly broke my heart. Going into more research on you I found that you weren't the man I knew. But, I could help you become that man. That is not me saying you didn't deserve the successes you got. It was more that I just gave you the options to shine. I hope that it continued. That you grew even after I had to break away. Likely by the time you get this I'll be dead. Though, that's if Obadiah actually had put this letter with Howard's Commando collection. But, I just wanted to let you know. We all remembered you. You were our friend and we were proud to have served with you and met you as you grew. I wish you the best of luck in the future and pray that you become the best man you can be._

_Sincerely,_

_ Ex-Director Margaret Carter_

"Wow..." Clint mumbled, looking back to the shadow box.

"Dad never threw anything away from people he cared about and Aunt Peggy was pretty involved in the family," Tony informed. Clint's head jerked up to stare at the genius. Tony had a small smile on his face. "I have no idea how I never found this stuff before. It was... It was all just right there."

"Is there anything else?" Bucky questioned. Tony nodded.

"Come on."

That night, Steve, Bucky, and Clint explained each and every photo Howard had taken and saved from the war to the others. Many of the pictures had Clint in them at some point, be it hidden in the background or the main focus. Howard must have collected everything into a photo album to possible give to Clint at a later point. It was actually surprising how much there actually was. The best that they found was a video. Actually, it was the video of Bucky's and Clint's impromptu shoot off.

"Hey, did Howard ever tell you why he didn't just focus on bombs and guns and shit?" Bucky chuckled. Clint paled. He had forgotten about that distracted comment.

"What?" Tony asked. Steve snorted.

"After this shoot out, Clint mentioned he was better with a bow," Steve informed. Tony's mouth dropped as he looked at Clint. The archer shrugged.

"I made my career and got SI to create my weapons back then," Clint huffed. Natasha snorted.

"Only you маленький ястреб."

* * *

**So, I didn't post yesterday cause the night before had been so stressful that I only got like two hours of sleep and then had to deal with plumbers coming and fixing a large leak, trying to buy a new cage for my eight year old sugar glider that is having back leg strength issues and then falling asleep far too early. Heck, I missed my therapy appointment cause I slept through the alarm, two phone calls and five texts. Also, as a side note, ONE CHAPTER LEFT. Sorry.**

**Darius is still with the snippy attitude. Beginning to whine about everything. Crying at things at the drop of a hat. Just overall giving us a bunch of stress. Bargaining with him has become a frequent life saver. We stand tall against our original disagreements with him but bargain with something to happen later in the day or giving him something he would have liked earlier. Yeah, not always the best idea but we are just typically too done to deal with it all when he gets really bad. And we know he's tired but he refuses naps and when he gets really bad it's always too early for bed. Trust me, we're working on it. Baby Jason is doing good. Has gotten a bit finicky about things but easier to handle than Darius.**

**Getting to a point now where I am unsure if I want quarantine to end or not. I want it to end so I can get a bit of privacy to type as my comp is set up in the main living room. But I don't want it to end cause I like hubby being home. Ugh. Here's hoping I not only decide but things work out in everyone's favor.**


	12. Epilogue

CHAPTER 12 - Epilogue

** One Year Later**

Clint finally was able to return to the farm. Laura still hadn't fully forgiven him for his 'choice' to fight in the war, but there wasn't much he could do about that anymore. He was forever changed. Currently they were getting ready for 'welcome back' picnic. The kids and Pietro had finally been able to convince Laura to give Clint another chance. It meant a lot to him. And much to Laura's consternation, Lila wanted to learn how to shoot like him. But as Clint had returned to the farm, Loki left to visit his brother in New Asgard.

"Okay, hold on. Don't shoot," Clint coached. Lila took her shot. Clint smirked. "You see where you're going?" Lila hummed. "Okay, now let's worry about how you get there."

"Hey, you guys want mayo or mustard or both?" Laura called from down the hill. Clint chuckled as Lila turned to him.

"Who wants mayo on a hot dog?" Lila asked. Clint smiled.

"Probably your brothers," Clint replied before turning to Laura. He could see Cooper and Nate playing nearby the table as Laura tried to get things ready. Pietro had just zipped into the house. He must have been going to get more food, or something like that. He shouted back to Laura. They had actually gotten a divorce so he couldn't call her his wife anymore. "Uh, two mustard please! Thanks Laura!" With a smile, Clint went back to coaching his daughter. "Mind your elbow."

THAWK

Clint laughed, proud of his little girl. He looked to her and held up a hand for a high five. "Good job, Hawkeye. Now go get your arrows." Down the hill Laura called out to Clint. He turned to her with a smile and a laugh. "Alright, we're comin'. We're hungry. Lila lets go."

Clint turned to where his daughter was collecting arrows. No one was there. Clint frowned, wondering if this was a joke. He headed over to the barn. "Lila?"

No one was inside. Worried now, he headed back out and looked to the picnic table. No one was there either. "Honey?" he tried as he started heading over that way. Then he realized the boys weren't even around. "Boys? Boys? BOYS!"

Desperate, Clint rushed to the picnic table. It was there he noticed some sort of ash sitting on some of the hot dogs. The hot dogs closest to where Laura was standing. Wait, where was Pietro? Clint turned to the house. He hadn't seen the blue blur that always indicated where he was. Jogging toward the house, Clint prayed that at least the speedster would be okay. But there, in the front hall from the edge of the kitchen to the door was a clear telling of ash laying on the floor.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

**Wow... If I had remembered how short this was I would have posted this last week. Sorry.**

**Depressing week for me. I had to put my sugar glider Momo down. He had lost use of his back legs and his breathing was off. By the time the vet hospital got to him, he was too weak. There was a small chance of doing aggressive treatments to help him but in his state, the vet didn't think he'd live. I wasn't going to have his last days suffering and not with me. So, I said goodbye. Just like my cat Binks (I don't remember if I mentioned that he had to be put down as well), this illness appeared within days and it was too late to help. Darius is suffering from loss more with Momo then with Binks. Even though he'd been with Binks more than Momo. He keeps asking when Momo was going to come home from the 'pet hospital.' When we explain that he won't, Darius bursts into tears. It hurts and sucks for all of us. Now I can only hope that Miles (who is sixteen or seventeen years old) doesn't get ill and passes. Though, considering all the younger pets keep going, Appa might be next. Life sucks.**


End file.
